Terror's Peak
by SwarmX
Summary: You say you've experienced true terror? Well let me ask you, have you ever had that moment where there is no room for failure? A moment that if you do fail, you lose it all? A moment where death is staring you right in the face. A moment that has caused you to lose someone you love. Again I'll ask, have you really experienced true terror? And will you ever be able to overcome it...
1. A Friendly Gesture

***I ADVISE YOU READ THIS***

 **A/N: Welp, here we go again! Along with an update, I figured I should give you guys the first chapter of my second story,** ** _Terror's Peak._** **As for my uploading style for this story, I was kind of torn. Thank you Josh and Guest for the suggestions. While I like the idea of posting a chapter after I finish the next chapter, as Josh suggested, I feel like I might get carried away and then get off track, thus leaving you guys waiting for long periods of time. So I came up with a compromise, I will follow JoshDD's suggestion (it's within the reviews of my first story) however I will only post if I have at least three chapters ahead of that already completed, if that makes sense. Hopefully it works out :)**

 **As for the story, I tried to go for more of a dramatic or suspenseful type of plot, seeing as last time I did a romance. I tried my best not to spoil it in the title but if you decipher it enough you may be able to predict what will eventually happen. I really wanted to make a story that had emotions running on high and really hit the reader's hearts. Whether I executed that well or not will be up to you guys when the real drama begins in later chapters, so let me know if I did a good job XD. Although this isn't a romance, Chase x Skye is affiliated throughout this story and I'll try my best to add some Marshall x Everest too for all of those shippers out there ;). Don't like, don't read. I hope you guys enjoy the story as much as I do writing them :) Without further ado, I present my second Paw Patrol fan fiction: Terror's Peak.**

* * *

Adventure Bay. A beautiful city, known for its fine beaches, iconic bridge, and gorgeous parks. Every year tourists crowd the town, whether it be to take a dip in the refreshing waters of the bay, or to soar down the icy slopes of Jake's Mountain. With the help of the tremendously friendly community, Adventure Bay has always been an extremely captivating place. However, Adventure Bay wouldn't be the amazing city it is without the Paw Patrol. Not only is the team exceedingly friendly and lovable, but they work hard to maintain Adventure Bay's outstanding reputation. Keeping the town clean, helping those in need, and full-scale rescues are only a few of the services the Paw Patrol provides to the city, receiving no reward. Their everlasting love for one another makes a strong, indivisible team that is devoted to serving the common good, and the citizens of Adventure Bay couldn't thank them enough. The city couldn't possibly function without them, and Mayor Goodway decided that it was time to finally show their appreciation for the team.

 **X**

"Really mayor?" Ryder asked through the phone in disbelief, "All of that? For us?"

"Oh don't be so humble Ryder! The town of Adventure Bay loves you guys! Especially Chickaletta and I. Isn't that right sweetie-pie?" Mayor Goodway said in a cute little baby voice as she patted her adorable pet chicken's head, earning a chuckle from Ryder, "You and the pups deserve this!"

The Mayor had just phoned up Ryder to share some exciting news. Mayor Goodway and the rest of Adventure Bay were going to be throwing an appreciation party for all the hard work the team does. They have been at it for over three years and haven't received a thing in return. It was the least they could do.

"Gee Mayor, I-I don't know what to say!" Ryder stumbled at a loss of words, "We owe you big time!"

"Oh don't even think of trying to repay us!" Mayor Goodway insisted, "You guys have done so much for us and we haven't returned the favour once! We should be throwing you one-hundred parties!"

"Come on! We could pay for dinner?" Ryder offered, "Or at least let us clean up the mess after."

"Nope. I won't have it," the mayor said stubbornly, making her point very clear.

Ryder rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this battle.

"Fine, if you insist," he eventually muttered.

"Good!" Mayor Goodway clapped her hands, pleased with how everything was working out.

"So tomorrow at six?" the boy double checked.

"Yep, 6:00!" the Mayor confirmed.

"Sounds good! The pups will be so excited," said Ryder, imagining they joy on their faces when he would tell them the exciting news, "Again, thanks so much Mayor, I really appreciate this and I'm sure the pups will too."

"Don't mention it Ryder! It's our pleasure," Mayor Goodway assured, "Take it easy!"

"You too!" he responded as he hung up the phone. He stood up from his bed with a big juicy smile painted on his face. That phone call came out of nowhere, and all of a sudden Ryder's mood was brighter than the sun. Eager to share the news with the pups, he began making his way outside where the pups were playing.

 **X**

"Help! Oh help! Somebody, please!" Skye cried from her trampoline, "I'm trapped in this cage and there's a fire-breathing dragon lurking around here..."

On cue, Marshall revealed himself from under the trampoline, letting out a huge roar, "Haha! Behold! The mighty fire-breathing dragon! Keeper of trampoline castle, destroyer of citizens!" the dalmatian proclaimed, attempting to let out another roar which ended up making him choke and cough excessively, causing the other pups to laugh.

"And don't forget the dragon's master.. Lord Zuma! Master of evil, and executor of _PRINCESSES_!" the chocolate lab announced as he came out from behind the trampoline, evilly glaring at Skye.

Zuma's latter statement made the trapped cockapoo whimper. After hearing a voice in the distance, they all suddenly drew their attention to a bush in the backdrop

"Never fear!" Chase popped his head out from the bush, "Prince Chase is here! With his trusty stallion, Ol' Rubble!"

The english bulldog made his way out of the bush with Chase on his back, clearly struggling to walk due to the shepherd's substantial size.

"Okay, who's great idea was it to have the youngest pup be the prince's horse?" Rubble asked, straining to keep the german shepherd up. The rest of the pups couldn't help but laugh at Rubble's comical situation.

The pups loved to play the typical games, like fetch, or hide and seek, but those games were only fun to a certain extent. However, role playing _never_ got old, and the pups _loved_ it. Letting their imaginations run wild and creating real life fantasies filled their hearts with joy and excitement.

"Intruders!" Zuma shouted at the sight of Chase, "Wolf, attack!"

Rocky dashed out from behind a nearby tree at his master's command and howled.

"Your wish is my command Master!" the mixed breed said, charging at the prince and his precious stallion.

"Onward Ol' Rubble! We shall bypass this mutt and save the princess from the evil Lord Zuma and his despicable dragon!" ordered Chase, eyes filled with determination.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though Rubble didn't have as much incentive as Chase did. He took about one more step before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

"I'm afraid you'll have to go on without me brave prince," Rubble let out, trying to catch his breath.

"Alas, my horse has fallen," Chase sighed, "But fear not m'lady! I shall continue my journey on foot!" he said and began to run back at the oncoming wolf.

Skye couldn't help but giggle at Chase's dedication in playing his role. Seeing Chase's passion and outgoing personality warmed her heart. She quickly pulled herself back into character and continued playing.

"Hurry Prince Chase! I don't know how much longer I have until Lord Zuma loses his patience and.. _*gulps*_..e-executes me!" the helpless cockapoo whimpered.

Skye's cry for help only added to Chase's incentive to save her as he continued to race toward the mixed breed. The two pups were going full speed right for each other with no sign of stopping. It even got to the point where the other pups worried that one of them would get hurt. With only seconds before the two were about to collide, Chase leaped in the air and soared over Rocky, catching him completely off guard. The german shepherd landed and pulled something from beneath his armor just as Rocky stopped and turned around.

"Oh no," the mixed breed feared, "My only weakness!"

"That's right! Your worst nightmare.. A WATER BALLOON!" Chase declared while aiming the water balloon at Rocky.

"Ready… Aim… FIRE!" he shouted.

With a loud whimper, the 'wolf' had surrendered and ran off in the opposite direction.

"One down, two to go," Chase smirked, proud of his work so far. He made his way further to Skye, almost making it right up to the cage when Marshall stepped in front of him.

"If you want to get to her, you're gonna have to get through _me_ first!" roared Marshall, who then pounced on the german shepherd.

The two of them wrestled around for ages, dirt and dust stirring up through the air. The two went back and forth rolling on top of each other trying to emerge victorious. Unfortunately, the previous battle had made Chase low on stamina, and he was only getting weaker. Marshall finally positioned himself on top of the prince, and this time, he couldn't recover.

"Haha! You're no match for me, _peasant!_ " Marshall boasted in his deep dragon voice, "Any last words?"

The site of Chase being defeated struck a little worry in Skye. The cockapoo whimpered again and closed her eyes. She knew it wasn't real, but that's the fun of role playing. Besides, the thought of actually losing Chase was just terrifying to her. Luckily, Chase still had one trick up his sleeve.

"Yes, I actually do," Chase grinned, "Think fast!"

The german shepherd managed to wriggle one paw free from Marshall's grasp and immediately began rubbing it against the dalmatian's belly, causing him to completely collapse and burst into laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Marshall burst out, "THAT'S NOT FAIR! HAHAHA!"

"All's fair in love and war, my friend!" Chase said as he made his way over to Zuma, successfully defeating the 'ferocious dragon'.

He approached Lord Zuma who had an evil glare in his eye.

"If you think the tickle monster is enough to beat me, then you are sadly-..." Zuma's eyes widened at the sight of Chase pulling a cardboard sword from his armor, "...mistaken."

"Let her go." Chase said sternly, not afraid to make a move if he had to. Zuma was stuck. There was nothing he could do. Not even his lethal karate skills could outsmart the sharp blade of the Prince's sword. He had no choice but to accept defeat.

"Ughh! Curse you Prince Chase!" Lord Zuma hollered as he began running away from the shepherd, "I'll get you next time! Mark my words!"

A smile came across Chase's face. A smile of satisfaction and accomplishment. He hopped over the wall of the cage, grateful to see Princess Skye unharmed.

"Oh Prince Chase! Thank goodness you're alright!" Skye sighed of relief while running up to the strong and brave german shepherd.

"Sorry to keep you waiting m'lady," Chase winked at her while reaching out his paw, "Come, take my hand. And we shall leave this menacing castle and Lord Zuma forever!"

"Don't mind if I do," Skye smiled and grabbed Chase's paw as he lead her out of the castle.

Once the Prince and Princess were a safe distance from the castle, they took a moment to stop and stare in each other's eyes.

"Oh Prince Chase, how may I ever repay you?" Skye asked, grateful that Chase risked his life to come save her.

"Oh don't be silly! I could never accept any money, it was my pleasure," insisted Chase.

"Well.." Skye grinned as she thought about the cliché ending most rescue stories had, "There must be _some way_ I can repay you."

Once the words left Skye's mouth, Chase knew exactly where this was going, and didn't hesitate to go along with it.

However, the rest of the pups who were all still in within range of the two, realized where this conversation was headed as well and braced themselves.

"Gahhh! I'm too young to see this!" Rubble panicked and covered his eyes.

As Skye leaned closer to Chase's lips, the others began to look away too, not really wanting to see Chase and Skye all over each other. Sure, they were happy that the two pups were finally a couple, but would prefer if they could keep it PG while standing right in front of them.

Chase and Skye's lips eventually met as the two closed their eyes and enjoyed themselves. Zuma and Rocky quickly turned away and blocked any possible view of the kiss with their paws.

"Come on guys," complained Zuma, who was a tad bit grossed out.

"I know you guys are a couple, but at least save it for the doghouse," Rocky reasoned.

"I think they're cute," Marshall smiled, adoring how much the shepherd and cockapoo cared about each other. Even though the whole scenario was fake, they both acted as if it had really happened.

However, the pups' words were meaningless at the moment, as all Chase and Skye could focus on right now was each other. They were so out of it that they didn't even hear the Lookout door open behind them.

The other four pups directed their attention past Skye and Chase, who were still kissing. Seeing who was making their way toward them caused all four other pups to let out an ' _Uh-Oh_.'

"Ahem," Ryder cleared his throat trying to get the attention of the two love-struck pups.

Chase and Skye opened their eyes and jumped back a bit, not expecting to see Ryder standing behind them with a bemused look on his face.

"I hope I wasn't _interrupting_ anything," Ryder winked at the two pups.

"Uh.. no!" Skye quickly responded, "Nothing at all."

"Oh really?" Ryder raised an eyebrow, "That didn't look like _nothing_ to me."

"Skye's right! It was nothing! We were just.. uh.. _role playing!_ " Chase said, making a very obvious wink towards Skye, causing her to face palm.

"If you say so," he winked at them again, causing them to blush.

At this point, the rest of the pups had made their way closer Ryder and sat at his feet waiting for him to continue on.

"Anyway.. So Ryder, what brings you out here?" Rocky asked, presuming he came outside for a specific reason.

The boy grinned at the thought of the news. He had almost forgot after what just happened. Ryder's expression made the pups real anxious to know what he was about to tell them.

"Oh boy! It's something good isn't it!" Rubble exclaimed, jumping for joy at the sight of Ryder's smile.

"What is it Ryder?" Zuma tilted his head.

"Well," he began, highly anticipating the pups' reactions, "You pups know we've all been working very hard for the past couple of years trying to make Adventure Bay the best it can be."

"Well yeah, that's our job!" Marshall stated, confused where he was going with this.

"That it is Marshall," Ryder continued, "And all this time we have received no reward for doing so, right?"

"Yeah, we could never accept any money for doing our job!" Chase insisted, "We're doing it for the good of Adventure Bay. And besides, I love our job so much that I wouldn't even want a reward." he proudly stated, earning agreement from the other pups.

This brought another smile upon Ryder's face. "I love how humble you pups are," he chuckled, "But what if I told you that Mayor Goodway and our friends have planned something… _special_ for us, in honour of our hard work."

"Wait, really?!" Marshall wagged his tail.

"What is it!? What is it!?" Rubble begged.

Ryder saw this as a perfect opportunity to toy with them a little bit and get them more excited. "Well, it involves lots of.. _things._ " Ryder vaguely answered.

"Like what?" anticipated Zuma.

"Oh you know, _stuff_ ," Ryder teased them some more.

"Oh come on Ryder, just tell us!" Rocky groaned impatiently.

"Oh okay, fine," the boy chuckled, deciding he taunted them enough for now, "Mayor Goodway and the citizens of Adventure Bay are throwing a PARTY for us tomorrow in honour of all our hard work!" he finally managed to tell them.

The pups' reaction was priceless. Widened eyes, gasps, shocked faces. Ryder thought it was so adorable.

"Really Ryder?" Skye yipped of excitement.

"You bet! Tomorrow at six," he reiterated. All of the pups jumped and howled in excitement.

"Yippee!" Skye barked, doing her typical back flip.

"Oh my gosh, I can't wait!" beamed Rubble, "I've been working on my dance moves," he said followed by a slick moonwalk across the grass.

"Dang dude, that was smooth," Zuma acknowledged the bulldog's talent.

"Yeah me too!" declared Marshall, "I can do a mean tailspin!"

Marshall's claim caused the rest of the gang to look at each other with a hint of worry, but the dalmatian's confidence sparked a little hope in all of them. The young dally got up on his tail and started spin rapidly.

"See, pretty good aren't I- Woahhh!" Marshall was interrupted by his own inability to stay balanced. To make things worse, he was heading straight for the other's, "Look out!" he hollered.

"Uh oh.. Brace for impact!" Chase warned.

 **SMACK**

Marshall sent everyone into the ground, and as the dust settled all that could be seen was a pile of pups and a ten year old boy.

"Well, I wasn't lying when I said it was _mean_ ," Marshall admitted.

The rest of the pups along with Ryder couldn't help but laugh, cherishing the funny moment they just had together. Marshall never failed to lighten up the mood. Everyone stayed in the same position until the laughter stopped. They all took the moment to embrace each other's presence. Skye nuzzled up beside Chase, Zuma sat atop Rocky's back, and Marshall and Rubble laid on Ryder's lap. The team's love for each other was unconfined. The boy looked at his pups and couldn't help but smile.

"I love you pups so much," he sighed, making the rest of the pups turn and smile back at him.

"Awe, Ryder!" Skye admired his sincerity.

"We love you too!" Chase added. All six of them crowded Ryder and overwhelmed him with puppy licks. The warm tongues tickled his face, causing him to giggle uncontrollably. He couldn't think of a more heartfelt moment that he'd previously had with the pups. He preserved it for as long as possible, but eventually things began to settle down. Looking at his pup pad, he realized it was almost time for dinner.

"So, who's hungry?" Asked Ryder as he stood up, causing the pups to pant in excitement.

"Oh boy, I thought you'd never ask!" Rubble said, relieved he could finally get some food.

Ryder chuckled. Rubble appetite almost seems to never go away. "Alright pups, let's head inside. I'll fix us up some dinner."

* * *

 **I think it was a good start, don't you? Anyways, like I said, the uploading of this my be wonky at first, so don't expect a new chapter soon. Also, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm terrible at keeping promises for certain dates XD. So again, don't always count on my word. Just a heads up, in this chapter along with future chapters, there is a lot of foreshadowing, so in the meantime when I'm not uploading, maybe you guys could try and predict what might happen later in the story. If you think you have a good idea, write a review, I'm curious XD.**

 **I said it last time and I'll say it again; I accept criticism. Don't like something? Want me to correct a mistake? Have any ideas? Let me know by PM or via a review. I read all of them. As always, thank you for reading. Have a good day, and catch you guys next time ;)**

 **~SwarmX**


	2. Appreciation

**A/N: Chapter two! It's a long one, so get your popcorn ready :) I'm going to try and keep these author notes a bit shorter form now on, they were getting pretty lengthy XD. Once again, my uploading is far from consistent, so I apologize if I keep anyone waiting. Enjoy :)**

 ***Responses to reviews are at the bottom***

* * *

Chase sat in front of his pup bowl staring at the wall. While Ryder and the pups were gobbling down their food, Chase's mind was set on the ceremony that the Mayor was planning for them. Nobody had ever honoured them like that before and sure he was excited, but he began sinking deeper into his thoughts. _Should us pups really be honoured for this? I mean, Ryder created the Paw Patrol, and he's the brains behind it… Doesn't he deserve the credit?_ Chase pondered.

The german shepherd pup glanced over to Ryder, who was taking a sip of his water, and smiled. They boy had done so much for them ever since day one, and Chase was grateful. In fact, if Ryder hadn't adopted them, not only would the Paw Patrol cease to exist, but none of them would have a home. No one to feed them, no one to play with them, and no one to love them. Then the idea struck Chase like a sack of bricks.

 _That's it!_ His eyes and smile grew bigger. _Us pups should write a speech for him._ Chase figured it was the least they could do for him. After all, the point of the ceremony was honouring the Paw Patrol, and Ryder _is_ the leader. His thought process continued as he began brainstorming topics to write about, but was interrupted by none other than…

"What's wrong Chase?" Ryder inquired, "You've hardly touched your food and the others are already done."

Chase snapped back into reality and looked around. He didn't even notice, but all the pups had already left. Not to mention, most of his food was still in his bowl as well.

"Sorry Ryder sir," the pup apologized, "I guess I got lost my thoughts or something.."

"Thinking about anyone in particular?" the boy winked.

Chase was confused at first until Ryder distinctly focused his eyes on Skye who was in the next room watching TV with the others.

"Skye..?" questioned Chase.

"Don't you remember outside?" Ryder recalled, "You two were pretty occupied," he chuckled.

"Ryyyderrr…" Chase blushed of embarrassment.

"Aww I'm only teasing you Chase," Ryder comforted, rubbing the top of his head, "I love watching you pups grow up."

Chase smiled and panted joyfully at the soft stroking of Ryder's hand atop his head. The boy took notice of this and decided to spoil him. He moved both of his hands down to Chase's belly causing the german shepherd pup to sprawl out on his back and anticipate a belly rub. Ryder didn't fail to meet Chase's expectation as he began contentiously rubbing his hands up and down Chase's chest. Chase giggled throughout the course of the belly rub until Ryder figured that he had enough.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you" the boy smiled.

"What do you think," Chase chuckled. He came closer to Ryder and gave him a lick on the cheek. "Thanks Ryder," he said while nuzzling the boy.

"Anything for my pups," He smiled and put his arm around the shepherd, giving him a warm, friendly hug. "Now, you better finish that food before it gets cold," he advised.

"Good call," Chase observed, "Catch you later Ryder!"

The boy gave him a friendly wave before exiting the room. Chase took Ryder's advice and began eating his food, all while thinking of what to say in their speech for Ryder. He wanted it to be perfect, but pure and straight from their hearts. After thinking a bit more, he figured he should finish his dinner and converse with the other pups before he could establish anything else, so he cleared his mind for now and focused on eating.

 **X**

The clock struck 7:30, and the pups were highly anticipating their favourite show, Apollo the Super Pup. Every day after dinner, all six pups would gather in the lounge and watch TV until the program came on. Marshall sat next to Rubble, who was in his usual _Apollo the Super Pup_ costume. Behind them was where the rest of the pups typically sat. Rocky and Zuma shared a bean bag as did Chase and Skye, only this time the cockapoo was alone as Chase was nowhere to be seen.

A few moments later the opening theme began to play, causing Marshall and Rubble to howl in excitement. "Finally it's starting!" Marshall howled.

"I know! This is my favourite part of the day!" Rubble wagged his tail, "Well, except for breakfast… and lunch.. and dinner too." Rubble's remark caused the other's to laugh.

After quieting down, the pups finally focused their attention onto the screen when it suddenly shut off. "Hey! What's the big idea?" Rubble demanded. The rest of the pups were just as confused as he was, exchanging puzzled looks with each other. Then, a voice was heard at the entrance of the room.

"Sorry for interrupting pups," Chase apologized as he walked into the room with the remote in his paw.

"Hey Chase!" Skye smiled.

"So it was _you_ who turned off the TV," Rubble glanced at the TV remote, clearly a bit annoyed, "What was that for?"

"We may have to skip movie night tonight pups," informed Chase, "This is really important."

The pups recognized Chase's seriousness and came closer to him.

"What's up Chase?" Rocky inquired.

"I was kind of deep in thought when we were eating dinner, hence why I was late, and I began thinking about Ryder," he began.

"What about him?" Marshall tilted his head.

"Well, if you really think about it, he's done so much for us over the past few years and we haven't really given him anything in return as a ' _thank you'_ ," the shepherd explained, "I mean, he feeds us, he cares for us, he gave us a home. Not to mention, the Paw Patrol wouldn't be possible without him." Chase's statement made the other's begin to reflect on this as well. It was the truth, Ryder loved them and did everything he could to keep them healthy, safe, and happy.

"Yeah you're right…" Zuma began to realize, earning nods of agreement from the other pups.

"Okay.. but what are you trying to get at here?" questioned Rocky.

"Tomorrow is the ceremony that the Mayor is throwing for us right?" Chase checked with them, "Well, I was thinking at some point we should go on stage and give speech for Ryder. You know, showing how thankful we are to have him and how much we love him," he suggested.

The pups exchanged glances and smiled at Chase's proposal, agreeing that it was a great idea.

"I don't know how you think of these things Chase, but boy you have good ideas," complemented Zuma.

"Yeah, that's a perfect way to show our gratitude!" agreed Rocky.

"You guys really think it's a good idea?" Chase contently double-checked.

"Yeah! I think Ryder will really appreciate it!" reassured Marshall, earning nods from Rubble and Skye.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go make a speech!" Chase declared, leading them to the elevator.

 **X**

Rubble, Zuma, Skye, and Rocky made themselves comfy upstairs while Chase went to go find a pen and paper. They all lied in a circle upstairs where they'd usually be assigned to missions, brainstorming things to write in their speech. Moments later, the elevator dinged, from which Chase and Marshall emerged.

"Yippee! You're back!" Skye barked, "We thought of some good idea to write for Ryder's speech."

"Alright good!" Chase smiled, dropping the pen and piece of paper in front of them, "In that case we should get started as soon as possible."

"Any sign of Ryder?" Zuma added.

"He's in his room," Marshall answered, "He looked to be doing something important at his desk, so we should be fine up here."

"So what do you guys got so far?" questioned Chase.

"Well, we figured we should firstly talk about how talented he is and how well-structured he made the Paw Patrol," proposed Rocky, "After all, that is what the ceremony is about."

"Okay, that's a good start!" Chase said as he began jotting down notes on his paper.

"But we also think we should talk about everything he's done for us," added Rubble, "You know, feed us, give us a home."

"Yeah! And then we could end it saying how thankful we are for that!" Marshall suggested.

The pups came up with a few more suggestions which Chase continued to write down. Once he had finished he reviewed everything and gave a satisfied grin.

"Alright, we have a good structure," Chase declared, "Now all we need to do is put it together nicely."

For the next hour or so, the pups took all their ideas and wrote it into one piece, making corrections and more suggestions along the way. After deliberating and looking over their speech a few more times, the pups were satisfied with what they had composed.

In the end, it turned out like this:

 _First off, all the pups and myself are so incredibly grateful for you guys to honour us like this. Never did we expect anything in return for doing our job, nor did we necessarily want anything as huge as this. Regardless, we'd like to thank Mayor Goodway for this huge event, it really means a lot. Although this ceremony is to honour the Paw Patrol, we feel that we don't necessarily deserve the credit. So I think I'm speaking for all the pups when I say this, but we'd like to recognize Ryder as opposed to us pups. Ryder built the Paw Patrol from the ground up. From building the Lookout to all of our cool gadgets, Ryder's creativity and determination hasn't failed us in the past and certainly won't in the future. Not only that, but he is an outstanding leader. He always knows what's right, and he gives us the confidence to do our jobs exquisitely. We couldn't ask for a better leader._

 _Now we'd like to put the Paw Patrol aside for a moment, and recognize Ryder for a different and more important reason. Ryder has done SO much for us, that 'thank you' does not even account for a fraction of it. From feeding, to playing, there's never a moment when he isn't looking out for us. But most importantly, Ryder gave all of us a home. I can't even imagine the situation myself or the other's would be in if we hadn't been adopted, but I think it's safe to say that we are much better off with Ryder. Despite all the trouble we may cause him, Ryder shows us endless amounts of love and affection, and we couldn't be more appreciative. We love you Ryder, more than you could ever imagine. And it will stay that way forever. Love, your favourite, hard-working pups._

After the pups reread their speech, they seemed pretty satisfied and proud of their work. But something was missing.

"Just one more thing," Rocky stipulated. The mixed-breed dipped his paw in some ink, and signed below the two paragraphs with his paw print.

"Ah, good idea Rocky!" Zuma complimented, while he and the rest of the pups followed Rocky's action.

"There! Now it's perfect," Chase declared, proud of himself and the pups.

"Wait, we're still forgetting something," Marshall indicated, "Who's going to read this tomorrow?"

Marshall brought up an important subject. They couldn't just write a speech and not read it, there would be no point. The team pondered about this for a moment before all five pups, besides Chase, focused their eyes on the german shepherd.

Chase took notice of this and was somewhat shocked. "Wha- me?" Chase disputed, "I can't read it, not in front of all those people!"

"But Chase, this was your idea!" Zuma pointed out.

"Yeah," agreed Rubble, "And besides, you've been with Ryder the longest, remember? He adopted you first!"

"Yeah...but-" Chase stammered.

"You're also basically second-in-command for the team," added Rocky with a comforting smile.

Chase gave an unsure look towards the pups. He wasn't the most confident when speaking in front of a crowd, but he really wanted to share his speech with Ryder and the rest of Adventure Bay. Then Skye chimed in.

"I think Ryder would be proud if you shared the speech Chase. You would be following in his footsteps, as a leader. And besides," she smiled and began walking up to him, "I think it's cute when you act all serious and be a leader," she admitted, fluttering her eyes at the shepherd.

Chase looked at her and then the other pups, and smiled. "Oh alright," he finally gave in, "If you guys insist."

Skye nuzzled him as a 'thank you', while the rest of the pups exchanged satisfied grins.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Rocky, "I think that's everything now."

"Good," Rubble yawned, "Cause boy am I getting sleepy."

This caused the other pups giggle. "I think it's time we hit the sac," presumed Chase, receiving resounding nods from the others. They filled up the elevator once again and descended to the ground floor. Each of them made their way to their puphouses, ready to finally get some shuteye after a long and hard day.

However, rather than going to her puphouse, Skye cut her trip short and stopped at Chase's puphouse instead.

The german shepherd raised a brow. "Who said you could stop by here," he playfully smirked at her.

Skye took note of Chase's sarcasm and decided to act upon it.

"Oh I just had to, ' _Prince Chase'_. There was a fire-breathing dragon outside my puphouse!" she fake cried, referring back to when they were role playing earlier. Chase let out a chuckle as he recalled the moment as well.

"Oh and by the way," Skye continued, "Smooth cover-up back there when Ryder came up behind us then we were ' _role playing'_ ," she teased.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Chase rolled his eyes, "At least I _tried_ to think of an excuse," he countered.

"Doesn't make your excuse any better," she came back.

"Oh yeah? And _you_ could have thought of a better one?" he sassed.

"Sure I could," she insisted.

"Then give me one," Chase challenged her, "I'll give you five seconds."

Chase began to count down, playfully smirking at the cockapoo who was desperately trying to think of an excuse to prove the german shepherd wrong. Just before time was up, an idea popped into Skye's head, which Chase noticed due to her facial expression. Before she could let a word escape her mouth, the police pup had pounced on top of her.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" She whined, struggling to free herself from Chase's grip. Before she had the chance to say another word, Chase began forcefully tickling her which resulted in the cockapoo to burst into laughter.

"Can't tell me your excuse if you can't talk!" Chase snickered, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your five seconds are up!"

"Ahhhahahahaha!" she cried, "Ch-Chase-hahahahahaha! Please! Hahahahaha!"

"Oh you want me to stop?" he played dumb, "You need to say the magic words."

"I already said please!" she protested.

"I think the word you're looking for is,' _Okay Chase, I was wrong, you win'_ ," he proposed.

"That's seven words, not one," she smirked.

"Oh what was that? You want me to continue tickling you?" he asked sarcastically.

"Fine! Fine," she sighed and rolled her eyes, "You win."

"Glad to hear it!" He arrogantly grinned in her face as he let go of her.

"Don't get too cocky there," Skye warned, "You and I both know that you're very ticklish too."

"Fair enough," he compromised. Now that their little 'dispute' was settled, they could focus on more important things.

"So, you excited for the party tomorrow!" she changed the subject.

"Boy am I," exclaimed Chase.

"I remember the first party we went to a few months ago," Skye recollected, "Don't you?"

"I sure do," he chuckled, "That was probably the most frustrating and stressful night of my life, not gonna lie. But it was all worth it in the end," he smiled and nuzzled her.

"That was probably the best night of my life," the cockapoo declared, "Hopefully tomorrow night will be as fun. Do you think there will be dancing?"

"I'm sure there will be, after all, it _is_ a party," Chase indicated.

"Well in that case, we better get some sleep," suggested Skye, "If we're going to own the dance floor like last time, then we better get some rest," she winked at him.

"True that," he yawned, "I'm guessing you're spending the night here?"

Skye made her answer clear by stretching and laying down on top of the german shepherd's bed. Chase took that as a 'yes' and responded by turning off the light and then laying down next to her, gently resting his head atop her's, as she snuggled into his side. Their eyes eventually eased shut and they both slowly drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Lookout, Rocky and Zuma sat outside their puphouses discussing tomorrow night.

"I'm so pumped for tomorrow dude!" anticipated Zuma, "It's going to be sick!"

"Yeah I'm sure it will.." mumbled Rocky who was slouched on his belly, resting his head on top of his paws.

"Especially the dancing," the chocolate lab continued, "This time I'm determined to outshine Chase and Skye, I've been working hard on my pup-pup-boogie moves!"

"Hm, cool," the mixed breed muttered.

Zuma glared at Rocky, "Something the matter dude? Why are you acting so glum?" he questioned.

"Oh, sorry Zuma. I was kind of out of it.." Rocky admitted.

"What's on your mind?" Zuma tilted his head.

Rocky gave a slight frown at his own inability to explain what was wrong. He wasn't trying to hide anything from Zuma, he literally just didn't know how to explain it. Frankly, because _he_ didn't even know what was wrong.

"Well.. uhh," he struggled to answer his friend's question, "I honestly don't really know why but... I just don't have a good feeling about tomorrow."

Zuma was quite surprised at this. All the other pups were excited for the party tomorrow; it was going to be a great night. He couldn't think of any reason why anything _bad_ would happen tomorrow.

"What drew you to that conclusion?" he gave a perplexed look at the mixed breed.

Rocky shivered at the thought. It was really out of the ordinary for this to happen, it was almost spooky. He sighed and began to explain to Zuma what happened.

"You know those nightmares that I have sometimes?" asked Rocky.

"About your hydrophobia? Yeah, what about them?" the lab raised a brow.

"Well they came back recently.." Rocky dejectedly informed him. However Zuma was still confused as this was an occasional occurrence.

"Okay, but they happen every so often. There's nothing to worry about, it's normal." Zuma tried reasoning.

"That's the thing though, ' _every so often'_ ," indicated Rocky, "Zuma, I've been having them all week and last night it was really bad. I can only imagine what tonight will bring upon me. Something bad is going to happen and soon, I can sense it."

Zuma could see Rocky was getting tense and worked up, so he decided to calm him down and think of a logical explanation so that he could stop panicking.

He walked up to the mixed breed and patted his back. "Hey now, don't get yourself all worked up over this," comforted Zuma, "It's probably just your hormones acting up. Your body realizes you have a fear of water and maybe it's trying to help you overcome them by creating these dreams."

Rocky took Zuma's explanation into consideration. It did make sense, and he felt a lot better believing that rather than some catastrophic future event. He looked back up at his friend and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rocky concluded, "At least, I sure hope you are."

"See, there's nothing to be afraid of," Zuma reiterated, "How about you sleep in my puphouse for tonight. If you have another nightmare, just wake me up and we can talk about it, and maybe I make you feel better."

On the inside, Rocky was beaming. He expected to have another dream tonight based on the past few days, and he felt a lot more comfortable sleeping with someone rather than alone. He managed to keep a lid on it and responded to Zuma.

"I think I'll accept that offer, just for tonight though," he insisted, "I don't want to keep you up every night."

"Whatever floats your boat!" the chocolate lab smiled, "I think we should go now though. Ryder should be coming to check on us any minute now," indicated Zuma, receiving a nod from Rocky.

"Thanks again Zuma," appreciated Rocky, "You're such a good friend."

"You can always count on me buddy," Zuma winked as he lead the recycling pup to his puphouse. The two made themselves comfortable and drifted off into a deep sleep. They were going to need lots of energy for the highly anticipated party tomorrow night.

 **X**

Back inside the Lookout...

"Really dude?! Aw man, that's awesome!" exclaimed Jake.

Ryder had just shared the news of the ceremony with Jake, and was delighted to see his ecstatic reaction through the screen on his pup-pad.

"It is, isn't it?" chuckled Ryder, "Are you going to tell Everest?"

"Nah, she's already asleep, I couldn't wake her up now. But don't worry, I'll tell her first thing tomorrow morning," promised Jake, "She's going to be so excited!"

"I'm sure she will be," anticipated Ryder, "Just don't forget!"

"You can count on me!" insisted Jake, "So what time is it again?"

"Tomorrow at 6 p.m., at City Hall," informed Ryder.

"Alright, sounds good bro," Jake grinned, "Hate to cut the conversation short, but it's getting pretty late."

"Yeah, no worries. I was getting kind of tired too," admitted Ryder, "I'll see you tomorrow Jake!"

"Catch you later bro!" he signed off.

Ryder hopped up from his bed and made his way toward his desk, putting his pup-pad down and picking up a piece of paper. He smiled as his eyes scanned the paper. Little did the pups know, Ryder had prepared a speech for his pups too, and he had just finished it before he called Jake.

The pups filled Ryder with joy and happiness. They're the most trustworthy and caring pups he could ever ask for. He had such fond memories with them, ones he will cherish for the rest of his life. Not only that, but they also indirectly made him who he was. Without the pups, he may never have learned how to be responsible, how to problem solve, and most importantly, how to be a leader. Ryder had to thank them for all they've done for him, whether it was direct or not.

After reading the final sentence to his speech, Ryder concluded that it was perfect. The boy tucked it on his top shelf, ensuring that none of the pups could get a hold of it. Not that his pups were ones to snoop around Ryder's room, he just wanted to be sure it was a surprise.

Subsequently, Ryder checked his watch and figured he should make sure the pups were going to sleep. He descended in the elevator and circled the Lookout while quietly peering into each of the puphouses. A smile appeared on his face after checking each pup. Sometimes the cuteness was just too much for him.

However, his heart sank a little when he looked in Skye's puphouse only to find nobody there. Worrying a little, he continued on to the final puphouse which happened to be Chase's. A wave of relief hit him at the sight of Skye cuddled up next to Chase. He wiped a drip of sweat off his forehead, glad to know his pups were safe and sound.

Although he didn't mind the two pups kind of having a thing for each other, Ryder didn't really condone Skye sleeping with one of the male pups, but he couldn't help but notice and smile at how cute the two pups were. He just didn't want anything too _inappropriate_ to happen, not at least until they were fully mature. He decided to let it slide this time seeing as the pups were already fast asleep, and he knew he could trust them.

Nevertheless, all the pups seemed sound asleep so the boy made his way back to his room, ready to get some sleep for himself.

* * *

 **Wasn't the most exciting chapter, but filled with some heartwarming moments from the pup and even Ryder which I do enjoy myself ;). Any suggestions/corrections/critiques that you may have, be sure to let me know!**

 **Josh DD: Thank you once again for all the support you've given me! You keep up the good work as well ;)**

 **Energyn: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter too, there's many more to come :)**

 **TechWolf2.0: Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy this one as much as the last! :)**

 **Briairlight77: Oh my, what a compliment :] That made my day! Happy to know you're enjoying it so far :)**

 **A: Thank you for that :) And don't you worry, once I start a story, I intend to finish it, no matter how long it takes. I won't let you down ;)**

 **Guests: Thank you for all your wonderful comments and suggestions, I'll try my best to comply with you all!**

 **Welp, that's two chapters over with, but there's much more where that came from? Think you know what's going to happen next? Take a guess, I'm interested to see XD. Hope ya'll are having a nice day, catch ya later!**

 **~SwarmX**


	3. Problems Arise

*****IMPORTANT*****

 **Hey guys... it's been a while. In fact, it's been too long. I want to apologize. I never liked when authors took forever to update because I'd be dying to read the next chapter, and unfortunately I've done just that. It wasn't my intention, but now I realize what it's like being an author/writer. This past month and a half when I haven't uploaded, I've been up to my neck in school work and haven't found the time to write. Not only that, but I've been having writer's block for the past little while (basically when an author's mind goes dry of ideas for a while and needs a break to regain them). However, I've found the time to upload this chapter (which was already finished back when I posted the second chapter, along with a few more) and update you guys on where I've been and what's going on.**

 **I'm also here to let you know that once summer hits (my last exam is June 28th), I will be uploading much more frequently. Until then, unfortunately I have to focus on exams and last minute assignments as oppose to writing/uploading. I know, it sucks but what can ya do :/ Anyway, I just thought I'd upload this chapter with an update so you guys know I am still very much going to complete this story. I'd never start one and not finish it, that's just crude. Anyway, without further of my blabbing on, here's chapter three of Terror's peak.**

* * *

The sun ascended over the horizon of the bay, providing a spectacular view for onlookers. The birds chirped, there was a cool breeze, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It looked as though it was going to be a perfect day.

It was about 8:00 when the pups began to wake up, nothing out of the ordinary. One by one they made their way inside to the kitchen where Ryder was waiting for them with their breakfast ready.

Marshall emerged through the doors first, with Rocky and Zuma following the dally not too far behind.

Rocky was quite evidently tired. Despite Zuma's reassuring words, he had chosen not to wake up the lab up after awaking from his nightmares last night. He felt bad having to wake Zuma up in the middle of his sleep so decided to scrap the idea and just pretend he didn't have any nightmares. Nonetheless, the one he had this past night was the worst of all. He had a really bad feeling about today, whether it had to do with the party or not, and it caused him to be a lot more anxious than usual.

"Didn't sleep too well last night Rocky?" Ryder inquired, noticing the mixed breed's dark bags and somewhat tired posture.

"Oh, uh.. I guess not. I couldn't really get in a comfortable position for a while," he lied.

Zuma gave a concerned look at the recycling pup, hoping that he hadn't had one of those nightmares again and kept it to himself. In the end he decided to trust his friend and believe that if Rocky actually had a problem, he would have informed him.

"That's too bad," Ryder sympathized, "Maybe later you can take a nap so you're all charged up for the ceremony this evening."

"Yeah, I probably should," he agreed, "Thanks Ryder."

"No problem, buddy," Ryder smiled and stroked Rocky's head.

A few minutes later, Chase and Skye entered the building and met everybody in the kitchen. Chase took the liberty of waking up Rubble from his typical deep sleeps, thus he was a few steps behind the couple when arriving in the kitchen.

"You guys won't believe how loud Rubble was snoring just now," Chase announced as the three of them walked in, instantly livening up the room.

Rubble blushed. "What can I say, sleep is one of my favourite things!" he proclaimed. "Oh, and so is food," he added.

Ryder and the pups laughed at Rubble's statement as it was so typical of him to relate _anything_ to food.

"Speaking of food…" Ryder mentioned as he pulled out the bag of dog food, "You guys hungry?"

The pups barked of joy as Ryder filled up each of their pup bowls. The team ate breakfast pleasantly as a family while they shared some conversations and overall enjoyed each other's company.

* * *

It was a quarter past eight, and Mayor Goodway was already up and at'em. She was so pleased with the ceremony she was going to soon be throwing, that all the work leading up to it felt like child's play. She was in the middle of hanging streamers across the dance-floor area when she heard a knock at the door.

 _ **KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**_

"Ohhhh, that must be the MAILMAN!" she sang in an enthusiastic tune. The Mayor quickly went to grab the huge pile of invitations she had finished last night before opening the door.

"Mornin' Mayor," greeted the Mailman, holding his trusty old mail sack, "Do you have the invitations ready?"

"Certainly do!" she grinned, dropping them all into his bag, causing his to almost fall to the ground.

"Jeepers, this sure is a lot," he chuckled.

"Well, they are for _everybody_ in Adventure Bay," she reminded, "Will you be able to deliver all of this?"

"You can count on me!" the Mailman assured her, "I should be done by noon, six hours before the ceremony."

"Excellent!" The Mayor clapped her hands delightfully, "You'd better start now! No time to waste!"

The Mailman nodded reassuringly and went on his way, determined to meet the Mayor's expectations. Meanwhile, Goodway continued to decorate the hall. She managed to finish about half of it when she gazed at her watch.

"I wonder where Katie is," she wondered out loud, "She promised to come and help me decorate."

With a few taps of the buttons, the Mayor had dialed Katie's number on her cell phone.

"Katie's Salon, how may I help you?" the young girl answered.

"Katie! It's me, Mayor Goodway," she informed, "I thought you were coming to help me prepare for the ceremony."

"Sorry about that! I still am don't worry," she promised, "I'm just having a little trouble gathering all my decorations. And a certain little kitty isn't making it any easier for me," she glared at Cali who was running around with a streamer in her mouth.

"Do you need me to come quickly and help?" the Mayor offered.

"No that's okay, I can manage. I'll be there in about ten to fifteen minutes, okay?" she double checked with her.

"Sounds good," approved the Mayor.

"Oh and just one more thing," Katie added, "At the latest, I'll probably need to be back here at 2:30. I'm going to need to groom the pups and Cali, and then get ready myself."

"Oh no worries dear," Mayor Goodway sympathized. "With the both of us working hard, we should be finished long before that," she guaranteed.

"Okie dokie, see you in a bit!" the girl said as she hung up.

Mayor Goodway placed her phone back in her purse and decided to take a break during the ten or so minutes that it would take Katie to arrive. In the meantime, she quickly shot a text over to Mr. Porter who was going to be catering the event tonight. She wanted to make sure all the dinner and desserts would be ready for 6:00.

A few minutes later, he texted back saying he'd already started baking and guaranteed everything would be ready and brought there before 6:00. Mayor Goodway was relieved that everything was going so well that she barely even noticed the ten minutes go by.

In no time, Katie had arrived with all her things, including Cali, and began working on the rest of the decorations with the Mayor. Everything was going nice and dandy, and City Hall was already beginning to look like the life of a party. They couldn't wait to get it started later in the evening.

* * *

Soon after the pups had finished eating breakfast, they went outside to play. There was still plenty of time before the party, and at the moment they weren't needed for any missions, so they took advantage of their spare time.

Rocky, however, decided to take this time to nap, like Ryder suggested. He made himself comfy in his own puphouse this time, and drifted off to sleep.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Zuma asked as he looked through their toy bin. The other pups minus Rocky joined him and tried to decide on a game as the chocolate lab shuffled his paws through the bin. A soccer ball ended up making its way up to the top of the pile which got their attention.

"Soccer!" Skye cheered, her eyes fixed on the ball.

"I'm down for that," agreed Chase.

"Nothing like a good game of soccer!" Rubble chimed in.

"I guess that settles it," concluded Zuma as he picked up the ball. "Let's head out!" he proclaimed, leading them out to the yard. Conveniently, their portable soccer nets were still up from the last time they had used them.

Because Rocky wasn't playing, it was decided that Chase and Skye would be the two-pup team, seeing as they were arguably the two best soccer players of the five; with Rubble coming in at a close second.

"Let's play ball!" Marshall shouted as he kicked the ball down the field and got the game started. The five pups ran and laughed playfully as they continuously kicked the ball up and down the pitch, occasionally panting under the immense heat from the hot summer morning.

Ryder joyfully watched from the Lookout balcony as he took a sip of ice cold, refreshing lemonade. He'd normally join the pups in an instant, but on this occasion it was abnormally hot outside, so he decided to sit this one out. Nevertheless, he still liked to watch the pups just as much as he liked playing with them. Not to mention, he found that this particular game they were playing was a pretty close one, making it exciting to watch.

It was true. The game was tied and neither team looked like they were giving up yet. Whenever they would play soccer, the rules were always ' _play until the other team gives up or is too tired_ ', which is something that the pups were very good at; not giving up.

Skye cleared the ball from their half, causing it to bounce toward Rubble. With so much time and space with the ball, he had the chance to do his signature move.

"You guys better watch out!" he warned, "Here comes the _Rubble Power-Shot!_ " The bulldog turned around, his rear facing the ball. He winded up his powerful legs and prepared to blast the ball. Even if Chase or Skye could've reached Rubble by the time he was going to kick it, they didn't really want to get in the way of his self-proclaimed _Power-Shot_.

In no time, the construction pup booted the ball with his hind legs, sending it soaring into the air. The pups locked their eyes on the ball, anticipating it to head straight for the net. However, instead of that happening, it took a wicked deflection off of Zuma's head, who was standing helplessly in the ball's path.

The ball shot straight up off of the poor chocolate lab's head, causing him to fall to the ground in a daze. Being the caring pups they are, they didn't even worry about the direction of the ball, and went to go check on their friend.

"Zuma! Oh my God are you okay?" the german shepherd ran up to him with a worried look on his face. Once he reached the lab, Chase put a paw on his back, "Buddy? Hello?"

Zuma slowly turned onto his back, only to see the spinning image of his four friends standing over him. His eyes widened as he tried to set his vision straight.

"Hey Zuma, how many fingers am I holding up?" Marshall tested him by holding his paw up in front of the lab's face. Being the team's paramedic pup, he wanted to make sure the pup didn't sustain a brain injury.

The lab's vision was still somewhat blurry while he tried to think of an answer to Marshall's question.

"Uhhh.." he struggled to look at the dalmatian's hand. He gave one last shake of the head to try and regain his vision and it seemed to have worked. He then realized the obvious answer to Marshall's question. "Ohhh, that's right. Pups don't have fingers," he chuckled.

"Well, his mental status seems to be alright," Marshall concluded, joining the pups' little laugh. "Does your head hurt at all?"

"Yeah, it's a bit sore," admitted Zuma, "But nothing major. I should be able to go on."

"That's a relief," sighed Skye, "It looked like that ball hit you pretty hard."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that Zuma, I didn't mean to hit you," apologized Rubble.

"Don't worry about it dude, I know you didn't mean it," the lab forgave him.

Flashback to the flight of the ball, after nailing Zuma right in the noggin, it was sent sky high and headed straight for the Lookout. It even caught Ryder off guard, causing him to back up a few steps as it headed his way. The ball flew past the balcony and out of Ryder's vision, however, this was followed by a loud noise coming from the roof of the Lookout.

 **CRASH**

The loud crash caused all the pups in the yard to look up at what the sound could be. It even abruptly awoke Rocky, who was sleeping in his puphouse which was on the other side of the Lookout. It startled the mixed breed, and due to the anxiety caused by his recent dreams, he figured something terrible had happened.

Ryder was also curious, as his vision was cut off by the overhanging Lookout roof. He was about to lean over the edge of the balcony and look up at what may have made that noise, when a huge piece of metal plummeted from atop the roof.

The pups on the ground watched in horror as a big chunk of their satellite dish along with the ball quickly descended from the top of the Lookout. It landed on the grass with a huge thud. Luckily nobody was hurt, but now there was a new problem that had arisen.

Just as Rocky was heading out his door planning to investigate the source of the first noise, he heard the loud thud which spooked him even more.

Meanwhile, Rubble and Zuma looked at each other realizing that this was technically their fault, whether they mean it or not.

"Uh-oh.." they both gulped as they saw Ryder look down from the balcony and then head for the elevator. All five of them sat there motionless, but tense as ever. They were worried that Ryder might be really mad at them for breaking the dish.

Moments later, without a word being spoken in between, the front doors of the Lookout opened, and there was no question of who it was. The moment of truth…

"Pups!" Ryder shouted.

The five present pups lowered their ears, some even shut their eyes. They didn't want Ryder to yell at them for causing this huge problem, especially before their special night.

"Oh goodness, thank God you guys are all safe!" he exclaimed, "Is anybody hurt?" the boy asked anxiously. To the surprise of the pups, Ryder didn't even seem to care about the broken satellite dish. In fact he wasn't even speaking in an angry tone.

"Uh, no Ryder, sir," the german shepherd responded, "Zuma has a little headache from the soccer ball, but that's all."

"Whew, that's a relief," he sighed, now focusing on more important things, "Looks like we're going to have to get a move on in regards to fixing this thing, eh pups?" He fixed his eyes on the broken satellite lying on the grass.

Rubble slowly opened his eyes in slight confusion. "You're not mad?" the bulldog tilted his head.

"Mad?" Ryder has a perplexed look on his face, "Pups, I wouldn't care if this whole town got destroyed. As long as I know you guys are okay, that's all that matters to me." The boy and the pups exchanged smiles as he leaned over and rubbed their soft precious heads.

Then, out of nowhere, Rocky came dashing from behind the Lookout.

"What happened? What was that noise?!" he cried as his anxiety continued to antagonize him.

"Woah there Rocky, calm down," Ryder comforted as he went over and picked up the quivering pup. The mixed breed whimpered as Ryder gently stroked his hand through the recycling pup's fur. "It's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of. All that happened was a piece of our satellite broke off and fell," he explained, turning towards the piece of metal that had fallen on the ground.

"Well, is anybody hurt?" Rocky worried. Ryder then turned back towards the pups who gave the mixed breed reassuring smiles.

"All's good over here!" proclaimed Marshall.

"Yeah, never better!" cheered Skye.

"Speak for yourself guys," complained Zuma as he rubbed the area where the soccer ball hit his head. This earned a few laughs from the others, including Rocky which was nice to see.

Ryder placed Rocky back on the ground who then shook himself off which stopped the shaking. He took a moment to process everything that happened. ' _All that worrying, and basically nothing happened. No major damage and nobody got hurt.'_ He then realized how pointless all of his fretting was, and regretted it. ' _Maybe Zuma's right, maybe it is just my hormones. I need to lighten up a bit.'_ The mixed breed concluded. He walked over to his friends with a big grin, feeling like a new pup.

"Well pups, I feel completely energized again. What should we play now?" he anticipated.

"Well hold on just a second pups," Ryder halted them, "I'm going to need a couple of you to help me with the satellite. Without it, our TV, computer and my pup pad won't work. It needs to be repaired as soon as possible, and it sure isn't going to fix itself."

Rubble and Zuma looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll help you fix it Ryder," Rubble volunteered himself and Zuma as they both walked up to him.

"Yeah, it was kind of both our fault," the chocolate lab admitted.

"Splendid!" Ryder smiled, "Thanks for owning up to it pups, that's real mature of you," he complimented them. The two pups smiled proudly as they followed Ryder to fetch some tools to get started on the satellite dish.

In the meantime, the four other pups sat together and tried to think of something to do. All the while, they were panting ferociously under the intense heat from the sun. After a couple minutes, what seemed like such an obvious idea finally popped into one of their heads.

"Oh I know!" Marshall stood up, wagging his tail.

"What is it Marshall?" Chase asked eagerly.

"Let's go to the beach!" the dalmatian proudly exclaimed, earning anticipating smiles from the rest of the gang.

"Duh! Why didn't we think of that before?" Rocky face-pawed.

"The heat must be getting to us," Skye chuckled.

The four pups walked over to Ryder's garage where they found Ryder, Rubble, and Zuma inside gathering some tools.

"Hey Ryder, sir," greeted Chase.

"Hey pups, what's up?" the boy greeted back.

"Would we be able to head to the beach for a little while? It's scorching out here, and we need a way to cool off," the german shepherd reasoned.

"I don't see why not," granted Ryder, "Just make sure you're back in time to get ready for tonight. Oh, and be ready in case I need one of your guys' help!"

"Will do Ryder, sir! Thanks!" thanked Chase, followed by him happily leading the others back outside.

"Aw, lucky," Zuma muttered under his breath, which Ryder took notice of.

"Don't worry Zuma, if we finish early we can head down to the beach as well," promised Ryder.

"Really? Gee, thanks Ryder!" Zuma happily thanked him.

"My pleasure," he insisted, "Now, let's get working on that satellite," he declared, leading them out towards the Lookout tower.

Meanwhile, the other pups, who were all very eager to head to the beach, hopped into their rigs; all except one.

"Guys, it's such a nice day," Marshall pointed out, "I think we should walk to the beach instead."

The other three looked at each other in satisfaction. The fire pup did have a point, and Rocky especially agreed with his proposal.

"Great idea Marshall! This way we're reducing tons of pollution!" the team's environmental pup proudly declared as he hopped back out of his rig, followed by Chase and Skye.

"And, we get to embrace this gorgeous day!" Skye chimed in.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't mind getting to walk with my favourite pup all the way to the beach," Chase winked at Skye.

"...And us.." Marshall added, playfully punching his best friend's arm.

"Oh, I guess it would be _okay_ to walk with you guys to the beach too," Chase replied sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny," Marshall smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Alright guys, let's start heading down there," Rocky lead them, "Soon we'll have to head back and get ready for tonight!"

The pups nodded accordingly, and began making their way across the bridge towards the beach down below.

* * *

 **Boy, that was a close one! Thankfully nobody got hurt, and thankfully Rocky's anxiety was all just in his head... ;)**

 **Sorry, next chapter will have more action. I needed this chapter to kind of build a foundation for the plot. I guess you could say this chapter was the** ** _calm before the storm_** **. You can decide whether that was literal or figurative ;) Regardless, hope ya'll enjoyed, see you in summer!**

 **~SwarmX**


	4. That Sinking Feeling

**A/N: Hey guys, summer is officially here! Which means I can upload more often... not :( Yeah, as it turns out, I am taking English online this summer to free up my schedule next school year. But don't worry, I'll be uploading for frequently than when school was actually going on. This chapter and the next one won't be as long as the others unfortunately. They were initially one chapter, but I separated them for dramatic effect ;) Just a heads up. Anyway, Chapter 4 is here, hopefully you enjoy!**

* * *

"Katie dear! Could you please hand me another roll of tape?" Mayor Goodway politely asked. She was stood atop a stool holding a streamer up to one of the big speakers and had just used her last piece.

Katie obliged and walked over to the table and scanned for a roll of tape, but only found an empty one.

"Darn, I think we're out Mayor Goodway," informed Katie, "I think I have some at my salon, want me to go pick it up?"

"Yes please," responded Goodway. "But do hurry back! We need to get this job done," she said sharply.

"I won't let you down Mayor," she grinned and hurried out the door.

The decorating, for the most part, was going excellently. Colourful lights had been set up on the dancefloor and more than half of the hall was covered in streamers and balloons. All that was left was to finish the decorations, set up the tables, and put up a huge banner with the Paw Patrol logo over the stage.

Mayor Goodway was determined to give the Paw Patrol a memorable night and was pleased with how it was looking so far. Seeing as Katie would probably be about five to ten minutes, she decided to take a little break from all her hard work.

"Whew, all this planning and decorating sure has made mama tired, hasn't it Chickaletta?" she exhaled while petting her pet chicken, "What do you say we take a little T.V. break?"

 _BA-GAWK!_

The Mayor plopped herself onto the couch with her beloved chicken and began scrolling through channels.

"Boring.. Seen it.. Bad acting.. Oh! Too scary!" she blabbed on as she flipped through each program.

Suddenly, while passing the Adventure Bay News Channel, a bright red flashing message at the bottom of the screen got her attention.

 _**CITIZENS IN ADVENTURE BAY OR NEARBY TOWNS MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY**_

Utterly confused, and a little bit worried, she engaged in the program and listened to what the news anchor had to say.

" _Early this morning, around 6:30AM, a massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck far into the ocean, about 500 kilometres off the coast of Adventure Bay…"_

The Mayor gasped at the words coming from the T.V. Nothing like this had ever happened near Adventure Bay before. However, she was happy to know it happened far out at sea, meaning that nobody got hurt. Yet she was still confused as to why the emergency message was still present at the bottom of the screen.

" _...Although nobody has been affected by the initial earthquake, a tsunami warning has been reported! Citizens must begin to evacuate immediately. I repeat, citizens of Adventure Bay and any nearby towns must evacuate immediately!"_

Mayor Goodway felt her heart sink into her stomach. She blinked a couple times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. In absolute shock, she grabbed her cellphone. Her trembling fingers struggled to type Katie's number but managed.

"Come on Katie, please pick up. Please," she muttered under her breath as she bit her lip.

* * *

Katie rummaged through the drawers behind her desk back at the salon, trying to find the tape and hurry back just like the Mayor had requested. Momentarily, she spotted a roll of masking tape on top of her desk.

"Aha, here it i-" she was cut off by the sudden ring of her phone. As she picked up the phone she wasn't surprised to see who it was.

"Don't worry Mayor," the girl instantly began speaking, "I have the tape and I'm heading ov-"

"Katie! Channel 6, NOW!" the Mayor cried in distress.

The tone of Goodway's voice shocked her; she had never heard her in that kind of a state before. With almost no hesitation, she followed the Mayor's order and turned on her T.V., logging onto the News Channel.

There was a very cold and distinct silence among the phone call. Katie was trying to comprehend what was being displayed on her screen. Sheer terror had taken over the young girl. The Mayor heard a slight whimper come from the other line.

"M-Mayor..?" Katie managed to spit out before Mayor Goodway jumped in.

"Katie, listen to me. Grab Cali, and get out. Go as far inland as possible or as high a place you can," She ordered.

The blonde began to sob, realizing how serious the situation was.

"Katie please! Stay strong! Head to Jake's Mountain with Cali. I PROMISE I will meet you up there. We don't know when this wave will hit and we need to leave before it's too late," her voice began to raise.

"O-okay.. I'll m-meet you up there.." she stammered.

"We'll make it through this. Just stay strong," the Mayor encouraged just before hanging up. Faster than ever, she scooped up Chickaletta, hopped into her car and hightailed it out of there However, she only to be greeted by streets that were filled with traffic.

Meanwhile, Katie frantically called for Cali throughout her salon. Upon finding her, the girl put her pet cat into its kennel, grabbed her phone and jumped onto her ATV, keeping Mayor Goodway's words in her thoughts.

As she put her helmet on, she looked up at the tall Lookout building that was directly across the bridge. _Ryder.._ she thought. The girl reached for her phone intending to call Ryder but quickly remembered what Mayor Goodway said about leaving before it's too late.

After contemplating for a few moments, she reached for her phone, but put it in her back pocket. She figured that Ryder must have seen the tsunami warning due to all of the technology he has in the Lookout. Trying not to think about it, she pulled out of the parking lot and drove into the town, coming upon the same traffic jam that Mayor Goodway was stuck in.

With the cars moving ever so slowly out of Adventure Bay, all she could do was sob, and pray.

* * *

"Screwdriver!" demanded Ryder, who was doing his best to get the satellite in working order. Zuma walked over to the toolbox and handed Ryder the screwdriver, while Rubble held the broken piece in place. Despite the pups not getting to play like the others, they felt good about themselves helping Ryder fix what they had essentially caused.

"We're really sorry again Ryder," Rubble apologized, emphasizing their sincerity.

"Like I said before, don't worry about it pups! Everybody makes mistakes," he smiled at them, "And besides, you guys are helping me fix it." The two pups proudly smiled at Ryder's remark. "I just hope nobody tried to call us while our network was down."

"It seems like a pretty calm day, we probably aren't missing much," Zuma assumed reassuringly.

"Yeah, you're probably right," agreed Ryder who continued to repair the satellite, "Uhh, hammer please."

"You got it Ryder!" obeyed Zuma. The trio continued working hard to try and get the job done so they could possibly get some relaxing time before the big night.

Meanwhile, down at the beach, the other pups had been running around and enjoying themselves for the past half hour. After a long and tiring game of tag, they were chilling out by the water, trying to refresh themselves from the heat.

Marshall, Chase and Skye were splashing around in the water while Rocky had barely put his paws in.

"Come on in Rocky! The water's great!" Marshall encouraged, pitying the mixed breed who was helplessly panting under the sun's extreme heat.

"No thanks, I feel completely refreshed right here!" he lied.

"Here, how about I go get you some water to _drink_ ," Chase offered as we walked out of the water and shook himself dry, "Mr. Porter's is right over there."

"Actually, a bowl of water doesn't sound too bad," Rocky took Chase's offer.

"Make that two waters please!" requested Skye as she got out of the water as well. Marshall followed not too long after.

"Me three!" Marshall added.

Chase smiled and nodded before making the long walk across the sand back up to the road. Upon reaching the sidewalk, he stopped and looked around. Something was off. There wasn't a living thing in sight, no movement, nothing. In fact, it almost looked like time had stopped. It felt so deserted he expected a tumbleweed to roll by.

The german shepherd slowly made his way across the street to Mr. Porter's and walked through the automatic sliding glass door. Just like outside, it was a ghost town in there.

"Hello! Anybody there?" he called out, "Alex? Mr. Porter?"

After a few minutes with no answer, he made his way back outside, wondering where everyone could have possibly been. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a faint call of his name.

"Chase!" Marshall hollered from the shore of the beach.

The police pup began to jog over there to see what Marshall wanted. The closer he got, the more came into his field of view. About halfway down the sandy decline from the sidewalk to the water, Chase looked up and once again stopped dead in his tracks, realizing why Marshall had called him over.

Not only had the people disappeared, the tide had as well.

"Isn't this so weird Chase? All the water is gone!" Marshall exclaimed in awe, absolutely astounded by this phenomenon.

Chase made his way to the pups and looked far out into the bay. The tide had almost gone out past the bridge.

"Wha.. What happened?" Chase questioned.

"We don't know Chase," Skye said walking up to him, "We were talking about the soccer game we had earlier when Rocky looked up and noticed that all the water was almost gone."

There was lots of curiosity in the cockapoo's voice but Chase also picked up on a little bit of worry, which the shepherd felt in him as well. They didn't know how to take this, or what it could possibly mean.

Rocky wasn't taking the situation very well at all. He looked at the vast amount of wet sand leading all the way up to the supports of the bridge, which had always been covered by the water. It made him feel uneasy to say the least. But he tried to keep in mind what Zuma said. His anxiety was all in his head, and he just had to overcome it.

Marshall, however, thought it was the coolest thing ever. His mind blown, he tried thinking of what could have possibly happened to cause this.

"Wow, the whales must have been real thirsty today!" giggled Marshall.

"As if that's possible," Chase rolled his eyes. It wasn't meant to hurt Marshall, Chase was just a little bit frightened and concerned which caused his tone to be a little harsh. However, the dally took offense to his smart remark.

"Oh yeah Mr. Know-It-All, then what really happened?" Marshall glared at Chase.

Chase hated it when people called him that, and Marshall knew it too. All he was trying to do was be logical and he was being mocked for it.

"Well if you must know, the heat from the sun probably caused it all to evaporate," Chase frowned, slowly walking up to the dalmatian, "Anybody could have figured that out."

"It couldn't have evaporated that quickly! Use your brain!" Marshall snapped back.

This caused Chase to growl, "Well it makes more sense than a bunch of thirsty whales!"

At this point, the two 'best friends' were about an inch from each other's faces, with teeth showing as well. Skye and Rocky decided to jump in before things got out of hand. The cockapoo grabbed hold of Chase and slowly pushed him back while Rocky did the same to Marshall.

"Okay, okay Chase, let's calm down a bit," Skye spoke softly, looking into her mate's eyes. Chase closed his mouth and turned his attention to Skye who had a slightly upset look on her face. The cockapoo's expression made him realize how silly he was acting, resulting in a sad look on his face as well.

The german shepherd sighed and closed his eyes. "I let my temper get the best of me again. I'm sorry," he spoke gently, disappointed in himself.

Skye looked at Chase and smiled. His mature and noble side really touched her heart. "It's okay Chase, I'm glad you're able to realize when you've done something wrong," she nuzzled him, "But I think you owe someone else an apology too."

Only few metres away, Rocky was calming Marshall down as well. The mixed breed had seemed to do enough to make the dalmatian realize his wrong-doings like Skye had done with Chase.

The police pup had begun to walk over to Marshall when his ears perked. A faint noise which was slowly getting louder and louder by the second had caught his attention. It almost sounded like a stampede.

Chase turned to the source of the sound and went pale. He stood there motionless as the other pups noticed him stop dead in his tracks. They too quickly felt their hearts drop as they saw what Chase was staring at.

A wave.

Not just any wave. A massive wall of water. It looked to be almost ten feet high.

And it was heading straight towards them.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Not looking good for the pups and Adventure Bay at the moment. But don't worry, as Ryder would say, no job is too big, no pup is too small! ...Right?**

 **Sorry for yet another long wait. Trying my best :) Hopefully I'll be progressing more so I can publish existing chapters faster. Only time will tell. Anyway, thanks for reading! Catch you on the next wave... lol get it?**


	5. True Terror

**Sorry for another short chapter, like I said this and the previous chapter were together but I split them up. I'll try my best to keep updating, but taking an online course has consumed a lot of my time. Oh well. I promised I would finish this story and I plan to keep that! Without further ado, here's chapter five! Enjoy.**

* * *

"And, that should just about do it pups!" Ryder said, looking at the satellite with satisfaction.

"Awesome dude!" Zuma beamed, knowing that they could now go to the beach.

"And we finished it pretty quickly too!" Rubble added.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you pups," Ryder grinned, scratching both of their heads. "Now if I remember correctly, one of you wanted to go to the beach?" Ryder asked sarcastically, smirking at Zuma.

"Oh yes! Let's go!" cried Zuma.

Ryder chuckled, "Alright, let's head down there."

The boy helped the two pups down from the roof to the balcony. Eager to hopefully surf a little, Zuma looked down at the bay to judge the waves.

Meanwhile, Ryder had walked back inside the top floor of the Lookout. Upon his entry, the big screen T.V. had just turned on now that it was connected to the satellite. In that moment, Ryder froze. The news channel was on. The poor boy's eyes widened and knees shook as he comprehended what the news anchor was saying.

"Hey Ryder, check this out!" he heard Zuma call from the balcony. Ryder rushed out there, not necessarily to see what Zuma wanted, but to handle the critical situation they were in.

Upon Ryder's arrival on the balcony, Zuma spoke first.

"Look at the waves down there Ryder! Today is going to be a perfect day for surfing!" Zuma cheered, not realizing the danger they were in.

Ryder went numb. He was having trouble processing everything when he realized something dire; four of his pups were at the beach.

Frantically, he reached for his back pocket to grab his pup-pad but couldn't find it.

"Pups! Where's my pup pad!?" Ryder panicked.

"Didn't you have it up on the roof?" questioned Rubble.

"What's the matter Ryder? What's going on?" Zuma tilted his head at Ryder's sudden outburst.

"Pups, listen to me," the boy demanded, "Go inside and sit by the T.V. Try and grab hold of something if you can, that's an order. Ask questions later."

Confused, yet acknowledging Ryder's apprehensive tone, the two pups did as Ryder said. The boy then dashed back up to the roof in search of his pup pad. He was desperate to get a hold of the pups. He needed to know they were safe. He couldn't lose them.

* * *

Chase began to panic and desperately started looking around for anything that could save them. They were without their rigs, the Lookout's satellite was presumably down, and the whole town was almost deserted. There was no way they could make it back to the Lookout in time. After quickly scanning the area, he got an idea.

"PUPS! Mr. Porter's outdoor eating area, NOW!" Chase shouted.

Despite the agonizing fear, the dalmatian and cockapoo wasted no time in obeying Chase's order and made a mad sprint towards Mr. Porter's. Chase started to follow but realized that Rocky hadn't moved a muscle.

"Rocky?" Chase yelled, waving his paw in front of the mixed breed's face who was staring blankly at the wave. "Earth to Rocky!" he continued trying to get his attention.

The dreams. That's all he could think about. Those nightmares that had been going on for the past week. The visions of him drowning and never seeing the pups or Ryder ever again. It all made sense. It wasn't his hormones. Something bad _was_ going to happen. And it was staring him right in the face.

Chase's desperate calls for Rocky slowly began to break him free of his thoughts.

"ROCKY WE ARE GOING TO DIE IF YOU DON'T MOVE FROM THIS SPOT RIGHT NOW!" the shepherd screamed in his face.

Rocky shook his head, looked at the wave, and looked at Chase. In no time, he began to run towards Mr. Porter's with Chase right behind him, not looking back for even a second.

Upon reaching the eating area, Skye and Marshall were anxiously waiting for them to arrive. The three pups looked to Chase for further instruction regarding his plan as the roar of the wave began to grow louder.

He looked towards a picnic table that was set up against the restaurant. "Everybody on the table, we need to get on top of the building. GO!" Chase ordered. Within no time, all four pups climbed onto the picnic table.

"Okay guys, stack up on my back and climb on top of the roof. Skye gets up first, then Rocky, then Marshall and then me. Quickly!" he instructed.

"But how will you get up Chase?" worried Skye who was already almost in tears.

"I'll be fine, just go!" Chase assured her. Skye didn't like that answer, but she knew there was no time to argue. The tsunami had just reached the bridge, and the unforgiving rumble of the wave was scarring.

Marshall jumped on top of Chase's back, followed by Rocky. Skye then quickly climbed the tower of pups in hopped onto the roof. Rocky, who was still petrified, then jumped and hoisted himself onto the roof. From there, he reached out his paw to help Marshall up, seeing as the stack of pups was now down to two. Marshall jumped with all his might and clung onto the mixed breed's paw who then pulled him up. Three out of four, they were almost there.

Chase was relieved that the pups had made it up but now he had to make the jump of his life, literally. He turned to see the enormous wave crash at the shore of the bay and increase its speed towards them.

He turned back to see Marshall holding out his paw for the shepherd and Skye helplessly looking down and crying. Rocky had collapsed on top the roof and gone into a state of shock.

With his life on the line, he sprung himself up and reached for Marshall's paw... but to no avail.

His heart really began racing now. He knew the wave was gaining on him. He only had a few more jumps left and the worried look in his eyes became evident. The pups yelled over the blaring sound of rushing water.

"Come on Chase, you can do it buddy! I know you can!" Marshall desperately encouraged the police pup.

"Chase please make it! I can't lose you!" Skye cried.

Once again, Chase jumped but he just couldn't reach the dalmatian's paw. All three of the pups got that dreadful sinking feeling. The wave was getting ever so close and the roar of it swallowed up the cries of Marshall and Skye. Chase was down to his last chance. This was it.

The shepherd launched himself up towards Marshall, using the wall to increase his momentum. As his arm went up to reach for Marshall's paw, it seemed as if everything was in slow motion. Chase reached and reached, and was able to graze the dalmatians paw.

But that was all.

The two pups couldn't get a grip on each other.

Chase's face filled with horror as he realized his fate. Gravity pulled him back down towards the picnic table where he landed on his back with a sickening thud. He only had time to look up at the pups one last time before the wall of water plowed over the poor shepherd, leaving him nowhere to be seen.

Skye lay on the concrete roof with her paws over her eyes, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. Not even the deafening noise of the wave was able to absorb the sound of her cries.

Marshall just lied there with a dreaded look and his mouth open; he was in denial of what just happened. They were so close. His paw hadn't moved from the position it was in when he tried to help up Chase. He was traumatized. He may very well have just watched his best friend leave him, forever.

"No..no..no..NO!" screamed Marshall as he pounded his fist into the concrete. He then curled up into a ball and slowly began to whimper.

Rocky hadn't moved since he'd got up on top of the roof. He was physically shaking as the thundering noise of the wave rung through his ears along with the distressful cries of his friends. It was too much for him to handle on top of his initial phobia of water. It was his worst nightmare.

Only seconds later, a familiar sound emerged from the roof.

 _BLIP-BLIP_

It was Marshall's pup tag. He looked at it for a moment as it continued ringing. They knew exactly who it was. Only, he wasn't sure he could even _think_ of telling Ryder what had just happened, let alone actually telling him. However, being the loyal pups he and the other's were, Marshall answered.

"H-hello?" Marshall stuttered.

It was hard to make out because of the thundering flow of water and static, but Ryder was relieved to hear at least one of his pups.

"Marshall! Oh thank goodness! Are you guys okay?" he was almost shouting into his pup pad.

The dalmatian felt a warm tear fall down his cheek as he heard Ryder's question. He looked at Skye and Rocky which only made it worse. Through sobbing and tears, he tried to break the news to Ryder.

"Ryder…" he sniffed, "C-Chase is.. g-gone."

Ryder was having a real hard time making out what Marshall was saying, but what he heard made his heart skip a beat.

" _...Chase...gone.."_

"WHAT?" Ryder shouted in distress, "Marshall, you're breaking up! Please tell me you didn't say what I think you said!"

 _ **CRACK**_

The three distraught pups' heads shot up and looked at each other in horror. Ryder heard this noise as well.

"Marshall! What was that?! Answer me, PLEASE!" Ryder cried.

And the line went dead.

* * *

 **That didn't sound good.. what could have happened? As for Chase, there are no words... ;(** **Such a tragedy.**

 **Next chapter coming soon..**

 **~swarmX**


	6. A Broken Bond

****READ****

 **Sigh... So school starts tomorrow, and I feel completely underachieved. During the summer I expected to get a lot more of this story done, and it just didn't happen. I'm not only disappointed that I didn't keep that promise to myself, but I also let you guys down :( . Nobody should have to wait a month for a new chapter and I'm very sorry I made you wait, believe me I am. I guess it was a mix between writers block and just pure laziness. While I've been pretty unreliable during my time on FanFiction, there's one promise I will keep. I WILL finish this story for you guys, no matter how long it takes. Saying that, I will also try my best to upload and write more frequently, possibly one chapter every 2-3 weeks (don't quote me on that), merely because of school starting back up, and I tend to write long chapter. For example, this one is 4.5K+, I made it long as sort of an apology for my absence. I hope you guys can forgive me :)**

 **Anyway, I think I've talked enough here. If you remember the last chapter back in July, the pups were in a pretty dire situation, especially Chase. But if you know the pups, they're good at handling tough tasks! Hopefully this one isn't too tough for them to handle...**

* * *

Chase felt the cool water of the wave smash into his side at full force. Shocked, disoriented, and terrified, the shepherd closed his eyes as his fragile body was tossed around in the current. He must have broken a world record for the amount of underwater somersaults in a row. This caused his sense of direction to be totally astray. He could feel tree trunks and other large objects being bashed against him as the wave washed him around. At the speed the wave was taking him, it felt like semi-trucks were ramming into him.

Chase wanted it to stop so badly. The fear, the pain, the situation as a whole. As if the shepherd were in a pool, he tried reaching for the surface to get a breath of fresh air and escape the danger he was currently in. Only.. he didn't reach the surface or any fresh air for that matter. It didn't matter how far he swam upwards, all that was there was just more water.

His really heart began to race now. Drowning seemed inevitable and all he could think about was his friends and how devastating it would be for them if he were to not survive. The vivid image of Marshall and Skye looking down at him in dismay just before he was engulfed by the wave was stuck in his mind; it was haunting him.

 _I can't give up on them._ Chase thought, changing his mindset. He hadn't let the pups down any time before, and this certainly wasn't going to be the first. _This isn't how I die._

The hefty german shepherd opened his eyes and began to claw his way through the water. All sorts of debris already claimed by the wave continuously smacked and deflected off of him, leaving massives bruises and scars. To make things worse, the dark and murky water made it nearly impossible to see anything. It was as if he was stuck inside a washing machine. The pain was brutal, but Chase continued to power through it.

 _This isn't how I die. This ISN'T how I die._ He repeated in his mind.

Despite the police pup's determination, fatigue was beginning to fall upon him. The current was strong, the pain was becoming more severe, and the surface of the water was inconspicuous. His eyelids grew heavy and his lungs cramped. He was down to his last bit of air.

 _This.. isn't how... I die!_

However, the reality of the situation quickly settled into the shepherd, and he accepted it. This _is_ how he was going to die.

* * *

While trying to focus on communicating with Ryder, the loud crack that came form the building completely startled Marshall, Rocky and Skye. They exchanged looks of despair, knowing what was about to happen. Before any of them had the chance to say something, Mr. Porter's restaurant had disappeared right from beneath their paws; it collapsed under the immense pressure of the wave, sending the pups underwater and out of sight.

Instinctively, Skye began thrashing about in the wake of the tsunami, doing anything she could to keep herself above the water. Waves and debris flew by, occasionally hitting her as she was continuously dunked above and below the surface. She knew she had to grab hold of something soon, either before the current dragged underwater for good, or before she was to die of exhaustion.

With her vision impaired by the water, the delicate cockapoo desperately tried to grasp anything around her. As long as it kept her afloat and alive, she didn't care what it was.

Then, a relieving sensation fell upon her as she grabbed hold of something buoyant within her reach. It was an empty wooden food crate, presumably Mr. Porter's, but Skye couldn't care less. The aviary pup clung on for dear life as she continued to bob up and down in the cold, rough waters. It didn't keep her fully afloat, but it preserved her energy which was vital in the current situation.

She switched her focus from treading water to where the other pups were. She tried to look around but it was impossible to spot anyone in this mess, even without the constant splash of water that was hitting her in the face.

The questioned remained in her head; 'Why?'

Why did this have to happen to them? What had the Paw Patrol done to deserve to be ripped apart from each other. Her anger was counterbalanced with sadness. Her owner, her friends, the love of her life, all taken away right in front of her very eyes. The same pair of eyes that were now uncontrollably bawling out tears. The same pair of eyes that were now watching the Lookout, and all of Adventure Bay for that matter, slowly fade away as the wave brought her further and further away from her home.

It was settled. Fate had chosen its course. Skye was never going to see her family ever again.

* * *

Upon hearing the loud crack, fear paralyzed the poor mixed breed who was already suffering enough in this situation. His heart sunk and he fell into a nauseating daze once he realized the building was about to collapse. Surely enough, the concrete roof, which was their saving grace not even five minutes ago, crumbled beneath them and splashed into the raging waters below.

Rocky plunged into the frigid water, detesting how it felt beneath his hair and in his eyes; these only being a couple of the seemingly endless reasons as to why the environmentalist pup hated water, and this tsunami would only add to that list. That is, if he lived to tell the tale.

The pup's emerald green eyes opened to see sunlight and the water's surface becoming increasingly distant as the current whisked him about. He was still unable to move, absolutely petrified because of his hydrophobia.

His heart began to race. He knew he couldn't hold his breath forever. He wanted to move, he really did. He didn't want to die. He didn't want his fear to come out on top and defeat him. He wanted to snap some sense into himself and power his way to the surface of the raging water.

But he couldn't. The nightmares, the anxiety, the fear… the regrets. All that was envisioned in his mind was the flow of water and cries of his friends that were all previously in his dreams. But now it was reality. It created a mental block inside his head, one that he was failing to overcome. He began to grow light headed and his lungs thrived for air, but there wasn't any.

As the last bit of oxygen in his lungs was used up, his body involuntary forced the mixed breed to take a breath. A breath of dirty ocean water. He could feel the liquid fill his lungs as he began to choke due to the lack of air. His throat and lungs burned like a raging forest fire and his vision started slowly fading.

Rocky was helpless. He was too lost and too weak to recover from this state. Even if he was able move at this point, there was no hope in reaching the surface. After one last inhale of the murky water, the mixed breed lost consciousness, and his body continued to wash away with the current of the wave.

* * *

Marshall got a dreadful sinking feeling as the loud crack interrupted his call with Ryder. At the same time his nerves seemed to jump. The fear caused adrenaline to pump through his body. He quickly looked at Rocky then Skye, desperately thinking of what to do in the dire situation, but he wasn't quick enough.

As the roof gave way beneath him, he instinctively dug his claws into the concrete so he wouldn't be thrown into and under the water. Luckily for the dalmatian, the broken section he was standing on was quite large, making it quite easy for him to keep his balance. However, a large piece of concrete like that was never going to stay afloat for very long.

As the water began rising up the fire pup's shins, he scanned the surface of the water for anything he could use for floatation. His mind worked sharply as the adrenaline continued to pump through his veins. Luck seemed to be on Marshall's side when a large piece of wood, looking as though it was ripped off the top of one of the picnic tables, quickly came sailing by. With no hesitation, he leaped for glory and made it to the wooden platform.

The dally panted violently as the adrenaline began to wear off, but his fear hadn't budged. After catching his breath, he looked around in horror at the current situation he was in. Water filled the streets of Adventure Bay, taking all of the cars and buildings with it. Marshall and his wooden board were making rapid transitions on top of the water as the current travelled in spontaneous directions.

It only came to his mind when he saw a sign of Mr. Porter's restaurant float by. _THE PUPS!_

"Rocky? Skye!? Chase!?" he frantically called out while searching for any of his teammates floating around in the water.

"Anyone!?" he forced himself to yell despite his exhaustion. With no sign of life anywhere, just the white caps of the viscous waves, Marshall laid down on his stomach with a whimper. If he wasn't able to spot his friends _above_ the water, there's only one other place they could be and Marshall dreaded the thought. Underwater.

The dally quietly sobbed for some time, mourning the loss of his friends, when suddenly the current completely changed. Marshall felt himself being forced in the complete opposite direction and stood up to see what was going on. He looked and nothing could be said but the fact the water had completely changed its direction. Marshall then looked up to see where he was headed, and it wasn't a good sign.

The fire pup helplessly sat on the wooden board as the current was sending him and all sorts of other debris back out into the bay. He knew what was to come after the bay. The vast, deep, and dangerous ocean. There was no way he would last stranded out at sea.

His heart began racing once again and he started aggressively paddling himself inland. Unfortunately, the poor dalmatian's strokes were having little to no effect in changing his route. Upon realizing this, he gave up and went back down on his belly feeling completely helpless.

While venturing closer and closer to the bay, his eyes wandered to the right where the Lookout, his home, stood firm and tall. Due to its elevation up on top of the cliff, not even a drop of water had reached the building. It then led Marshall to think about Ryder, and the pups that had stayed back at the Lookout.

 _How are they going to cope?_ Marshall thought. Three of the pups had disappeared within the depths of the tsunami and he was heading hopelessly out to sea with almost no hope in returning.

Marshall watched as the Lookout got closer, then passed him, and then began getting further and further away. All of a sudden he was surrounded by the ocean, and Adventure Bay was beginning to fade away from his vision.

The dally rested on his belly one more time and closed his eyes as they began to well up with tears.

 _And it was supposed to be such a fun day today…_

* * *

"Hey Zuma," Rubble got the bulldog's attention.

"Yeah Rubble?" he replied.

"Why was Ryder so anxious out there? You don't think something.. _bad_ happened, do you?" Rubble whimpered.

"I don't know, I sure hope no-"

The chocolate lab was interrupted by a loud rumble while the Lookout began to shake. Both pups reacted with a high pitched yelp. Rubble charged over to Zuma and clung onto him.

"What was that?" Rubble continued whimpering.

"Could it have been that huge wave we saw?" Zuma gulped as the vibrating Lookout began to make him nauseous.

The two pups laid on their bellies up against the wall, trying their best to withstand the strange occurrence that was going on. It had been wavy down in the bay before, but nothing ever made the whole building shake. Not even a heavy windstorm or big thunderstorm. The pups were mind-boggled, but at the same time terrified.

Minutes later, the Lookout was still trembling but not as severely as when it started. Ryder had still not returned from the balcony and had the pups worried.

"R-Rubble," Zuma struggled to speak due to the vibration, "Ryder still hasn't come back."

"I know," Rubble acknowledged, "...I'm scared."

"I think we should go see if he's okay," Zuma stood up, feeling obligated to check on his owner who had taken care of them for years.

"Are you sure..?" Rubble questioned, still fearful of the shaking Lookout.

"We have to," concluded Zuma, "Here, take my paw."

Zuma helped the construction pup to his feet and the two began to slowly make their way across the room through the constant tremors. They successfully reached the door and looked around. They could hear someone, and it could only be one person. Nonetheless, it didn't sound very good.

They continued around the circular balcony when they spotted the ten year old boy. There, Ryder had collapsed onto his knees and was covering his eyes as he sobbed loudly. His pup-pad lay on the floor beside him displaying nothing but static.

Upon seeing their owner in such a state, Zuma and Rubble instantly ran over to him and were going to ask what was the matter. Only they didn't need to. Their attention was drawn past Ryder and into the distance where they saw the bay.. Or what was left of it.

The chocolate lab and english bulldog watched as water tore through downtown Adventure Bay. Mr. Porter's, Katie's Salon, the train station, all nowhere to be seen. Tables, chairs and debris from different buildings were being splashed around on the surface of the waves. While comprehending all of this, it hit both Rubble and Zuma like a ton of bricks. Rubble felt a lump form in his throat while Zuma felt like he was going to throw up.

"R-Ryder.." Zuma choked.

Ryder wiped his eyes and only looked at Zuma with the saddest expression.

"W-weren't.. Chase and.. all the other p-pups down there?" the water rescue pup stammered. He didn't want to believe it, but he essentially knew the answer to that question.

Ryder looked at both of his pups and his red eyes began to fill up with tears once more. He opened up his arms and embraced his pups clinging onto him forming an inseparable hug. The boy held onto his pups as tightly as they held onto him. Tears began to fall down the cheeks of Rubble and Zuma. They didn't need an answer to that question. They knew very well what the answer was, and they just couldn't bear to hear it be said out loud.

They needed each other's comfort more than anything right now. Their indivisible family was somehow broken; ripped apart by the vicious force of the ruthless wave.

The three stayed in each other's arms for quite some time. Time wasn't even an essence at the moment. When the hug eventually did break up, they sat there silently for another long period of time. Nobody had the strength to talk, nor knew what to even say. The constant roar of the wave ringing in Ryder's ears began to be too much. In his mind he heard the screams and cries of Chase, Skye, Marshall, and Rocky mixed in with the flow of water. The trauma and terror was getting to his head.

"L-let's go inside pups," Ryder told them as he stood up, "I can't be surrounded by this agony any longer."

The two pups gladly followed him. They too didn't want to be encompassed by the horrific scenes that were taking place in the bay anymore. Luckily, the Lookout was high enough up on a cliff that the tsunami didn't affect Ryder, Zuma, nor Rubble. But they didn't even care, how could they? What good was it if they were okay, but more than half the team, their family, wasn't.

Ryder then led the pups into the elevator and headed down. Rubble and Zuma stood close up to Ryder's legs, not leaving his side for a second. Dry tears on their cheeks were continuously being replaced with wet ones. The three entered the lounge area where Ryder pulled out three bean bags together for each of them. However after Ryder sat down, the pups spent most of their time on Ryder's lap.

The distraught lab and bulldog nuzzled their owner while softly whimpering. Ryder stroked their backs as he continued to quietly sob as well. The pain was endless, but Ryder, being the leader he is, knew they would have to overcome it, whether the missing pups returned or not. Despite the agony, he tried his best to speak to his pups in an uplifting tone.

"P-pups-" he was instantly stopped by a lump formed in his throat. A lump of sadness. The two crying pups looked up at the boy with their teary eyes which didn't make it much better. Ryder swallowed, cleared his throat, and did his best to continue.

"We.. we _will_ get past this," he started, "And I promise you that once the flooding stops we will search for those pups day in and day out. And we won't stop looking until we find them, alive or…"

The boy couldn't even comprehend the thought of one of his pups dying in such a tragic way, he couldn't even say it. The pups didn't want to hear it either. Tears rolled down their faces as Ryder reached the end of his sentence.

"No! I know they're alive," Ryder insisted, "If there's one thing the pups will not do, it's giving up. And we won't give up on them either. They will make it back alive, I promise."

The trio were so overwhelmed with emotions at the moment, mostly sad, but the two pups managed to crack half a smile at Ryder's determination and faith. He half smiled back at them and continued to massage their back in hopes of relaxing them for the time being.

"We may be stuck here a while pups," Ryder concluded, still hearing the faint roar of the wave coming from outside, "I think you pups should get some rest, it will calm you down and might make you feel a little better about the situation."

Rubble and Zuma nodded willingly at Ryder's suggestion, seeing as the whole ordeal completely stressed and wore them out. Within no time, the two pups gently fell asleep on their owner's lap. Ryder fell into deep thought about everything that happened, particularly his pups.

He knew he had just driven the thought of death from his brain, and convinced his pups things would be okay, but he began to question it. The unforgiving sound of the rushing water in itself showed how powerful the wave was, not even taking into consideration the flattened buildings and ripped out trees. If the wave was powerful enough to do that, then, what on earth had it done to his pups? His thoughts lead him to a conclusion that he really wished wasn't true, but it was in fact logical.

He had hope that the four of his pups were alive, but he didn't think that anyone could have survived that.

On the depressing thought, he deemed it would be beneficial for him to get some shuteye too. He was going to do everything he could to find his pups, and nobody was going to stop him.

* * *

Everest's jaw dropped and the colour was drained from her face. Jake too, started at their television in horror. It displayed live devastating images of Adventure Bay, with a news reporter documenting the events:

" _Early this morning, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck miles out off the coast of Adventure Bay. These live pictures you are seeing from our chopper show the truly horrifying effects of these deadly tremors."_

The camera then slowly panned out over the bay, revealing the gallons of ocean water that was flooding the streets and destroying the town. On one side of the screen, the Lookout could be seen unharmed. The news reporter continued:

" _Thankfully, warning issues were sent out early enough for locals to escape. As of now, we do not know of any deaths or missing citizens but the city will undergo more thorough investigations once the water has resided."_

"Jake…" Everest spoke with a heavy sense of terror in her voice, "D-do you think the pups and Ryder made it out safely?"

Jake, who was equally as worried as Everest, didn't know the answer to that question. Judging by the facts, he assumed that they must have escaped, but it wasn't for certain. He also didn't want to scare Everest.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about Ev," Jake reassured, yet still a bit worried himself. "The reporter said that warning messages were sent out early, and besides, the tsunami didn't even reach the Lookout," he indicated, pointing to said building on the screen.

Both of these were true, and it would make sense that Ryder would be prepared for this, knowing how tech-savvy he is. Everest nodded in satisfaction and sighed of relief. The scenes from the bay and the damages were actually quite horrific, but the only thing that mattered to her and Jake were their friends' safety.

A few minutes went by when Everest's ears perked, which Jake took notice of.

"What's wrong?" he questioned.

"I think I hear a car, or maybe two or three of them," processed Everest. The husky got up and peered out the window wagging her tail. "Woah! It's like an Adventure Bay reunion!" she exclaimed.

Jake raised a brow and went to go look out the window as well. Sure enough, there was Katie, Mayor Goodway, Mr. Porter and Alex, and Francois, all getting out of their vehicles, seemingly unsettled.

"Well thank goodness they're all safe and sound," Jake sighed of relief as he walked to the front door of their cabin, "Looks like we will be having company."

"Oh boy! Company!" Everest jumped for joy. However, she looked out the window and her excitement faded a bit. Something wasn't right. _Where's Ryder and the pups?_

Jake made his way outside and started greeting everybody. Everest followed shortly after but with a much more distressed look on her face.

"Hey dudes, so sorry to hear about what happened," Jake started as he went up to the group and comforted them. Everybody was visibly shook. The terror they all went through during the past hour was indescribable. On top of that, their homes, their shops, _their city_ was wiped away and gone forever.

Katie shed a few tears and Mayor Goodway gave her a big ol' hug. Alex, who had previously been crying, let out a few sniffles, to which Jake patted the boy's head. All Mr. Porter and Francois could do was just sigh in defeat, knowing how hard the next few days, weeks or even months were going to be.

"Dudes, I know this sucks, and it's going to suck for probably the next week or two," Jake began, "But look, we're all here, safe and sound. And we'll get through this together. We're a family."

A few of the gang gave a half smile at Jake's amenity. They started up a few conversations to try and distract themselves from reality just for a few moments. Everest meanwhile, was desperately looking around for Ryder and the pups. She walked in and around everyone's legs and all the way to the end of the driveway. The road leading up to the mountain was completely deserted. She let out a small whimper before she heard Jake begin to speak again.

"So, what do you say we all chill at my place until things cool down in Adventure Bay?" offered Jake.

Their friends happily made their way into Jake and Everest's warm log cabin, as the boy held the door for everybody. He was about to enter as well until he noticed Everest approaching from the driveway, clearly uneasy about something. She stopped at Jake's feet.

"Jake.." she spoke with a little worry in her voice, "Where's Ryder and the pups? Something tells me they're not alright."

Jake crouched down and scratched his husky's fur. "Everest dude, I'm sure they're okay. The Lookout is in a safe spot and they have the equipment needed to survive this," he reassured.

Everest still didn't look sold.

"Tell you what, once the flooding in Adventure bay ceases, we'll go right to Ryder's and make sure they're okay," the boy promised.

There was a pause, but Everest smiled and licked Jake's cheek, causing him to smile.

"Alright, alright!" he chuckled, "Now, let's go inside and warm up shall we?"

"You don't need to tell me twice," Everest replied.

The two went inside and met their guests all in the living room. The T.V. was still on the same channel so they could know when it was safe to return to the bay. Despite the severity of the situation, they were all thankful that all their friends were safe, including the Paw Patrol.

At least, that's what they thought...

* * *

 **:( A hard chapter to write, not going to lie. It's devastating to see the pups go through this, and surviving seems impossible at this point. Seems like praying is the only option.**

 **I was worried that the changing of scenes would be a bit confusing or too rapid, but I left it in cause I didn't see any other option. If you don't like it then let me know, and suggestions to bypass it would be greatly appreciated :) Until next time! (don't worry, it won't be a month and a half this time ;) )**

 **~SwarmX**


	7. The Devastating Truth

****SORRY I posted the wrong chapter yesterday, this is the real Chapter 7****

 **A/N: READ PLEASE-NEED SUGGESTIONS**

 **So, once again, I have let you guys down with the updating. It's been another month, I know, I'm sorry. I know there's some of you out there that don't mind, but for those that do, my sincerest apologies. I'm finding that because I make my chapters so long, it's taking me about a month to make each one. In fact, this one ended up having 8k+ words, which is a huge amount. So this is my dilemma, should I :**

 **A) Continue with the long 3-4k+ chapters which result in monthly updates.**

 **B) Shorten future chapters and update more frequently.**

 **The choice is yours :) Hopefully either one, depending on which one I go with, will work out. Now, I know this author's note is pretty long already but I have one more thing to say. There is a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of this chapter in the A/N section. It's just a little something I worked up, simply because I wanted to, so when you finish the chapter, please go check it out!**

 **Now without further ado, I hope you all enjoy Chapter 7 of Terror's Peak :)**

* * *

Defeat, despair, and darkness was slowly taking over his mind. All hope was officially gone. Chase's body was about to shut down, forever.

When all of a sudden, a rush of cool air met the police pup along with violent splashes from the salty water. The shepherd was thrusted upwards and popped out onto the surface by the bizarre current formed by the wave. Had that happened only a mere five seconds later, it may very well have been too late. It was a miracle.

Chase opened his eyes and was overwhelmed with brightness which completely blinded him. As his vision eventually adjusted, he still had no idea where he was. However, he knew he was still in very deep water. At any moment, he could be sucked back under the wave with almost no strength left. The german shepherd survived the impossible up until now, and there was no way he was going to let that go to waste.

Chase paddled with all his might as he kept his eyes peeled for something to grap. The current was so strong that there was almost no point in trying to steer himself. Something was going to have to come his way, or he was going to have to flow into the path of something else.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a poolside chair just popped out from under surface just as Chase did moments ago. It was a few metres ahead of him, and Chase swam with all of his might to grab hold of it. With some help of the current, Chase succeeded and hoisted himself on top of the chair with the little amount of strength he had left.

It wasn't the most buoyant object, Chase occasionally got a few splashes to the face, but it did its job. The exhausted pup collapsed onto his belly and began helplessly panting. The pain was really starting to set in now. He was cut up from glass shards, a few bad bruises here and there, but one of his hind legs ached tremendously more than any other part of his body, causing him to wince in pain.

However, the emotional pain was just as bad, if not worse. He had just escaped death; stared it right in the face. The terror was overwhelming and tears strolled down the shepherd's cheeks. He never wanted to experience anything like that ever again. He wanted this whole ordeal to be over. He wanted the comfort of his friends and family more than anything right now.

With nothing else to do, Chase lowered his eyelids and let the current take him. There was no use in fighting it, he was too weak. Besides, it's not like he knew where he was anyway. He figured it would be best to calm down and subside his anxiety, maybe he could regain some energy too. The shepherd tried to fall asleep, but it was near impossible with the wave's racket and his breaking heart. Instead, Chase simply laid there with his eyes closed, wishing this would all go away.

It seemed like forever, but many hours later, Chase woke up to his beach chair coming to a halt. Its legs had reached the ground. Eventually he did end up drifting off to sleep, and the water was now only a few inches deep. The atmosphere was very calm; besides the gentle flow of water, the surrounding area was silent. The cloudless sky had turned a pretty orange colour as the sun began to set. Chase was pretty drowsy. He stood up and slowly dipped his paw into the water and on the ground, making sure it was completely safe to be in. He walked off the chair only to stumble and wince emphatically. An intense pain jolted through his left hind leg, causing him to fall.

He looked back and tried moving it only to wince in pain even more. _It probably broke when I was being thrashed around in the wave,_ he thought and whimpered. The shepherd got up carefully and began to limp away, only using three of his legs. However he quickly stopped and realized something. Where was he going?

Chase looked around and noticed all the trees surrounding him, along with other shrubs and rocks filling in the gaps. He had no idea where he was, nor did he know what direction Adventure Bay was. It was frightening to say the least. He was completely lost. The police pup stopped for a moment to think. After putting the pieces together, he decided he should follow in the direction of the drenched vegetation.

The german shepherd took one look at the trails of puddles and soaking wet forest ahead of him. Chills went down his spine. Just the thought of water filled him with terror. He also noticed that the sun was getting lower on the horizon behind him. _I need more time to recover from this. Besides, travelling through a forest at night isn't something I'm dying to do,_ he concluded.

Chase limped onwards, finding a relatively dry spot up against a tree. After struggling with his leg to get there, he laid down and took a deep breath, comprehending the situation.

He had just barely overcome the tsunami itself. It bruised and battered him, destroyed him emotionally, left him with only three good legs, and worst of all, split up his family.

Chase had only one objective in mind now, and that was to find his friends. The shepherd made himself as comfy as possible, and settled into a deep sleep, hoping to recover some more energy for his long journey tomorrow. One he was up and at 'em tomorrow morning, there's going to be no stopping him.

 _ **LINE**_

Meanwhile, across the forest, Skye laid in her crate curled up in a ball, terrified to make a single move. The tsunami had settled for a while now, but that didn't really help the situation. Skye was absolutely drained of her energy and emotions. She had sobbed and cried so much that she could hardly produce any more tears. It look a while, but eventually she gathered up enough strength to lift up her head and take a gander at her surroundings for the first time.

Trees, trees, and more trees. She let out a loud whimper. It was hopeless, she was lost and figured she'd never make it out of there. Seeing as it was getting darker, Skye stepped out of the crate, her paws sinking into the muddy puddles and soggy grass. She looked around again to try and catch a glimpse of any sign of life. Anything that could possibly help her. But there was nothing. Not a living thing in sight; no birds, bugs, squirrels or rabbits. It was completely silent. Too silent.

"Rocky!?... Marshall!?" she called, desperate to hear an answer, "...Anybody…" her tone became defeated.

The tears once again began to roll down her cheeks as she thought about the pup that meant the most to her, _Chase…_ She thought back to when the tsunami hit. How protective he was towards all of them. How he insisted everyone makes it up the building before him. How he helplessly fell into the arms of the wave…

"Oh Chase, why couldn't it have been me?" she cried to herself.

And now she was not only separated from Chase forever, but Rocky and Marshall were now gone too. Even if she ever saw Ryder, Zuma or Rubble again, it would probably be a miracle. It all came to her at once and she was now crying even more than before, almost wailing. She just felt so helpless. Lost in a forest, far away from her home, separated from her family, possibly forever. She buried her face inside her arms and stayed like that for few moments.

She began thinking about everything, and slowly the sadness turned to anger. Eventually, the anger turned into determination.

 _What am I doing?_ She thought to herself. _Ryder wouldn't approve of this, nor would the Paw Patrol… especially Chase! I have to make it out of here. I need to do it for the Paw Patrol, for Ryder and Chase. To keep the family together._

The cockapoo picked herself up and walked through the tears. Her sadness was not going to overcome her again. Not this time. She walked past the trees with her eyes peeled and ears open, looking for either someone to help her or a place to stay the night, seeing as it was beginning to become quite dark in the forest,

About ten minutes into her journey, something caught her attention. There was movement somewhere, her ears picked it up. The cockapoo turned 360 degrees but only to find nothing. _It's probably just in my head_ , she figured

She sighed and continued walking when she heard it again. This time she was able to depict them as footsteps. Once again, she stopped and surveyed her surroundings quite carefully. The darkness of the night made it hard to see, but she knew someone was there.

It suddenly hit her like a sack of bricks. She didn't know what it was or why it happened, but that feeling that someone was watching her had just fallen upon the poor cockapoo. And she couldn't explain it, but felt like it had some sort of evil presence to it.

Skye's breathing became heavy and she felt a cold drop of sweat trickle down her forehead. She tried to deny it and look for a safe place to sleep for the night. _It's all in your head Skye, nothing's there. It's probably just the wind,_ she insisted. Seconds later, a twig snapping caused the fur on the back of her neck to stand straight. Instead of looking back, she began to walk faster. Soon she was jogging. Minutes later, she was in a full on sprint.

She just wanted to get away; escape reality. As if her situation wasn't bad enough, this forest was terrorizing her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a log which appeared to be hollow. With nothing to lose, she took the risk of taking a sharp turn to try and get inside the log. Luckily, it paid off; the log was hollow all the way through. Without hesitation, she scrambled inside of the of the fallen tree and covered her mouth, trying to block the noise of her panting.

Skye waited for what seemed like hours to calm herself down. She was eventually breathing normal again, and she hadn't heard anything outside for a while. She didn't know what was out there or what it wanted. But she did know one thing; she was absolutely exhausted, and that mad sprint did not help.

The small, fragile cockapoo yawned and stretched, then tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. There wasn't much she could do, seeing as she was inside a log, but her fatigue caused her to not really care about comfort anyway. Skye eventually fell asleep after one of the craziest and saddest days of her life. But that uneasy feeling had never left, inside the log or not. Skye knew she was being watched.

 _ **LINE**_

There was a light. A light amongst the darkness that surrounded him. He could see nothing but this light, which slowly started getting bigger. Rocky was absolutely clueless as to what was going on, and as the light got closer and closer, he braced himself for the worst. But what actually came from this light, was vision. The mixed breed looked around to see Adventure Bay and the surrounding area, all in a bright and shiny filter. As if this wasn't strange enough, he was looking _DOWN_ on Adventure Bay.

"Wh-what the? I can.. Fly?" Rocky said to himself. The pup found himself hovering over Adventure Bay with a fantastic view of the landscape, "I knew Ryder was a tech-wiz, but I didn't expect this," he said, trying to think of a logical explanation.

While trying to comprehend the situation, Rocky spotted something. Something he thought had left them forever. In fact, it wasn't something, it was some _one_. The mixed breed floated over to a forest that was miles away from the Bay, only to see Chase limping through the damp trails beneath the branches.

"C-Chase..? Oh my goodness he's okay!" Rocky exclaimed, "Or.. for the most part."

The floating pup had realized something was wrong with one of his hind legs, for he was not using it. Still in disbelief that their german shepherd friend survived that horrific tsunami, he knew he needed to go help out Chase.

"Chase! Don't move, I'm coming!" the mixed breed called.

However, the police pup continued to limp towards a tree, almost as if he were ignoring Rocky.

"Chase?" he hollered once again. Still no response.

 _Maybe he's got water clogged in his ears,_ he thought. Suddenly, he sensed some commotion somewhere behind him. The mixed breed was then unwillingly forced about a mile away from Chase, over a different part of the forest. Still puzzled at what was going on, he noticed Skye weaving in and between trees at an all out sprint.

 _Skye's okay too?_ He thought and sighed of relief. _But, what's she doing?_

Once again, Rocky tried to make his way toward Skye and help her but couldn't. It was like an unknown force was holding him back. His eyes followed the path of Skye until she disappeared somewhere in the forest. The mixed breed looked up and rubbed his eyes, not believing what he was witnessing. Upon looking up, he noticed the Lookout towering over Adventure Bay in the distance.

The mixed breed stared at his home for what seemed like forever, thinking of the memories, the missions… his family. When he finally snapped out of his trance, he blinked and was suddenly right outside the Lookout. Before he could question anything, he spotted Ryder, Zuma, and Rubble through the window.

The were all cuddled up next to each other, fast asleep, and safe and sound. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for their emotions, as Rocky could depict their tear-stained faces. This made him let out a whimper. He had to let them know he was okay.

The environmentalist pup pounded on the window a few times to try and get their attention, but to no avail, even after shouting their names.

 _Why can anybody hear me?!_ Rocky frowned.

He couldn't understand what was going on and was beyond frustrated. Why was he able to fly? Why is nobody responding to him? How was he moving from place to place to quickly? The more he thought, the more everything began to sink in. The tsunami, the loss of consciousness, the light he saw. He couldn't believe he was actually considering this conclusion.

 _Am I... dead? Is this the afterlife?_ His thought was interrupted by another abrupt change in place. However, this time Rocky wasn't floating in the air. He was on the ground and standing before the opening of a huge cave. Curious, he took a few steps closer and focused his eyes on something within the cave. There was something lying flat on the floor of the cave motionless and it looked to be a pup. He couldn't see the pup's chest moving which meant that it wasn't breathing, nor had a heartbeat.

As Rocky slowly got closer, he could begin to pick out small details of this lifeless pup. Grey fur, looked to be a mix of breeds, a dark grey patch on his right eye.

 _Heh, it almost looks like… me.._ Rocky's heart dropped.

Rocky froze in fear, and a gut-wrenching feeling struck the mixed breed. It didn't _look_ like him... it _was_ him. His question had been answered.

 _I am dead…_ He said out loud.

Emotions began to fill the poor mutt to the point where he couldn't take it. He began to cry loudly, continuously shouting "no" and asking "why?". He genuinely could not believe he was looking at his lifeless drowned body.

Rocky blamed himself. He had an amazing home. He worked an amazing job. He had the best owner and friends he could ever ask for. He had a precious and amazing life. And yet he let it go. He gave up. He let the arms of the tsunami take him away from his family and the life he once had. For good. He had failed himself and his friends.

Through the guilt and sobbing, he begged, "Please! Please give me another chance! I'll never take my life for granted again!"

He repeated this on and on, sorry for losing hope and faith on his life so easily. He closed his eyes as tears continued to flow down his cheeks. However, as quickly as they came, they disappeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, his breathing stopped.

 _ **LINE (still Rocky)**_

Rocky's eyes shot open only to be greeted with an overwhelming brightness. A burst of water shot up his throat and out of his mouth. He turned to his side, coughing up more water, some blood, and what he ate for breakfast that morning…

After he finished choking, he continued to lay there and catch his breath. Slowly his eyes began adjusting to the light of his surroundings. Within his field of view, besides the mess he'd made, there was just a cold, rocky floor, with a flickering campfire a few yards away from him that countered the darkness that was encompassing him. It looked like he was inside a cave.

The mixed breed groaned and turned so he was flat on his back. He was trying to figure out what was going on when he saw something that almost made him pass out again. Directly above him, was a big, strong, black, adult wolf, staring directly into his eyes.

Instinctively, with the little strength he had, Rocky tried to scramble away from the ferocious-looking wolf to save himself from being mauled. He ran behind a rock that was up against the cave wall to shield himself. After peering over it, he saw the wolf slowly walking towards him.

"No! Please don't eat me! I'm just a poor innocent pup!" Rocky cried, covering his head with his paws.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" the wolf said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, I don't plan to hurt you," he chuckled.

Rocky bashfully walked out from behind the rock and tilted his head.

"Y-you don't?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Of course not!" the wolf assured him, "I'd never hurt a fellow canine friend. Besides, I just brought you back to life almost two minutes ago."

"You did?" Rocky gasped.

"Sure did," answered the wolf, "I was up on the hillside when I heard word of a tsunami coming our way. Luckily, because this forest of so far inland, we only got about five to ten inches of water. When I was heading back to this here cave, that's when I spotted you, floating around with your stiff, motionless body faced up. I didn't have much hope, but I figured I must try and save you from dying. So I scooped you on up and brought you here where I performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth for about ten minutes. Finally, and thankfully, you pulled through," he gave a comforting smile to Rocky.

Rocky wiped his mouth and cringed when hearing he performed mouth-to-mouth, but was ever so thankful.

"Wow.. I-I don't know what to say," the mixed breed stuttered, "Thank you. I can't believe you did that for _me_.. a total stranger."

"My pleasure!" the wolf responded cheerfully, "I wasn't just going to watch you perish in front of my home... well temporary home."

"Oh this cave?" Rocky inquired.

"Yeah, just found it recently. I'm more of an _on-the-go_ type of guy," he explained.

"Hm I see. So… What's your name?" asked Rocky.

"The name's Valak," he greeted, "Yourself?"

"I'm Rocky, nice to meet you," Rocky replied.

"As to you," Valak paused, "So, what's your story? How did you end up caught in the tsunami?"

Rocky let out a huge sigh. He was about to speak when a lump formed in his throat and tears quickly began to fill his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. If it's too hard for you then you don't have to tell me," Valak quickly apologized.

Rocky sniffed and took a deep breath. "No, it's okay. I'm going to have to accept the truth eventually so I might as well start trying to now," he insisted.

"If you feel comfortable then go for it. But if things get too emotional, by all means stop." the wolf comforted him.

Rocky nodded. He went into full detail of how everything went down. It was so recent and so tragic that everything stuck in his mind. Valak was even able to grasp the severity and agony of his situation; tears almost formed in his eyes too. After explaining from the point which they saw the tsunami from the beach to when Rocky closed his eyes for what he thought would be the last time, the mixed breed's face was stained with more tears. Valak walked over and gave him a friendly pat on the back.

"...And then I woke up here," he sighed.

"Gee Rocky, I didn't know you had such a large and loving family… I'm so sorry to hear that," Valak comforted again.

"I-I just wish I could see my friends!" he cried out, burying his face into his paws, "Just one last time!"

"I'm sorry Rocky, but don't worry you can get through this," he gave some words of encouragement, "It's what your friends would have wanted. I can help you."

Rocky sighed again, reflecting on the situation… when he realized something.

"Wait! No!" he stood up, "My friends _are_ alive!"

"Listen Rocky, I know you want to have hope, and that's a good thing, but I don't think anybody could have survived that tsunami, at least from what you told me. I mean look, you probably wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for me," Valak tried reasoning.

"No! I saw them," he insisted, "I forgot to tell you!"

Valak gave him a perplexed look and waited for an explanation.

"After I nearly drowned, and before you revived me," Rocky explained, "I saw them! Chase was limping towards a tree, Skye was running through the forest... for whatever reason, and Ryder, Zuma, and Rubble were at the Lookout! They _are_ alive!"

Valak sighed. "Rocky I'm afraid all that was, was a dream. You were and still are so desperate for them to be okay, your mind is trying to make it happen. I wouldn't get your hopes up buddy," Valak warned him as nicely as possible.

"Valak, I know they're okay. And I'm going to find them, whether you'll help me or not," Rocky declared, making his way towards the cave exit.

Valak quickly jumped in front of him, blocking his path. "Whoa, whoa, hold on there partner. Nobody goes out into the woods at night."

"Why not?" questioned Rocky.

"Well… um, it's too dark. You might get lost and you won't be able to see a thing, let alone your friends," the wolf explained, somewhat suspiciously.

Rocky was a bit skeptical, but deemed his explanation reasonable. He once again sighed of sadness. He just wanted his friends back.

Valak couldn't help but pity the poor mixed breed, and although he was doubtful that Rocky's friends survived, he gave him an offer. "Here, if you _really_ think that your friends might be out there, I guess we can go look, but tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

Rocky looked up and half-smiled. He wanted to find them as soon as possible, but he would have to settle for this.

"Thanks Valak," he said, accepting the offer.

"Hey, it's the least I could do. You're not in the best situation right now."

"If you only knew…" another tear rolled down Rocky's cheek.

"Get some rest buddy, you've had a long day. Tomorrow we'll go out and look, maybe you'll feel better by then." Valak suggested.

"Okay.." Rocky compiled, walking back towards the dwindling fire, "Thanks again Valak, I really appreciate it, and everything else too."

"You can always count on me," he winked at the mixed breed.

Valak closed his eyes and Rocky quickly drifted off to sleep next to the flickering fire that dimly lit the cave walls around them. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and he needed the rest.

After Rocky fell asleep, Valak opened his eyes. He stared at the mixed breed for an unusually long time. The stare slowly formed into a smile, an almost sinister smile which lead to a slight chuckle, which was just as uncanny. He closed his eyes again, and went to sleep.

 **LINE**

Marshall violently gasped and began panting rapidly as he stood up. The wooden board he was sitting on rocked in the water after his abrupt awakening. He calmed himself down and squinted at his surroundings. There was just enough moonlight for him to determine he was still out in the ocean with nothing but his wooden plank.

"So it wasn't a dream..." the dally sighed hopelessly.

He flopped back down onto his belly and stared down into the water at his reflection. He looked at what used to be a strong, cheerful, brave little pup, but was now a weak, depressed and frightened pup. This disaster totally destroyed him and his character. Water, which was once his ally when fighting fires, was now his worst enemy.

He began thinking. Here he was stranded out at sea with a board as a floatation device, the whole of Adventure Bay had been flattened and destroyed, his best friend was most likely dead, along with Rocky and Skye for that matter, and the ones that may have survived were never going to see him again.

Dark thoughts now entered his head. Was anyone actually going to find him? Was it really worth him being out here trying to survive? Was it even worth _living_ through all this sadness and stress that he was now going to be overwhelmed with due to the death of his friends?

"No!" he put his foot down, "I won't end it all. I can't. Not when my friends are still out there.. well some of them.. with hope that I am alive!"

This sudden burst of confidence was the medicine he needed. Determination to survive this mess and getting to eventually see Ryder and the pups again. His positive attitude was going to take him through this.

"Besides, I have all the water I want!" he exclaimed while sipping on the ocean water, only to instantly spit it out everywhere and choke, "Oh yeah, saltwater. Oops…"

Now another problem crossed his mind. He was already starving, and how long would he last with no food or water? The thought sent chills down his spine. Not even his positive thinking would solve this dilemma. He sat back down and said a silent prayer. Begging that someone or something would see him out there. Hoping that he could somehow obtain even the smallest ration of food for his survival. Hoping these would not be his last few days on this earth.

 **LINE**

Jake's guests ended up staying longer than he expected. They all spent the night in the cabin's living room, wrapped up in sleeping bags and blankets close to the burning fireplace. Even Jake and Everest slept there rather than Jake's room. In the grand scheme of things, this was probably for the best. After the experiences they just had, nobody needed nor deserved to spend the night alone.

The sun rose early on the mountainside the next morning, shining a bright light through the cabin window. Slowly each and every one of the people in there woke up thinking the same thing. The horror they all went through yesterday wasn't a nightmare. It was real, and now they were going to have to live with it for the rest of their lives.

With the only two still asleep being Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta, Everest decided to break the everlasting silence by turning the T.V. on to check out Adventure Bay's status. The live picture that was still running from yesterday showed that the water had dropped a substantial amount. Shortly after, the news anchor began to speak on the situation.

" _Yes, the horrible tragedy that struck Adventure Bay yesterday afternoon has wiped out almost the entire city. Katie's Salon and Mr. Porter's are two of the many buildings that are no longer standing.."_

This statement cause Katie and Mr. Porter to bow their heads in dismay. They didn't expect much to be left, but nevertheless it was still devastating.

" _...The Paw Patrol Lookout has survived do to its geographical location and most of City Hall has remained intact as well, most likely due to the old and very strong architecture put into the building back when it was constructed."_

Upon hearing the words 'City Hall', Mayor Goodway shot right up out of her sleeping bag and awoke Chickaletta in the process.

"What happened to City Hall?" the Mayor panicked, "Is my precious home okay?"

"Yeah, for the most part," Katie responded glumy. The best reaction Mayor Goodway could give was a slight smile followed by a pat on the head for her pet chicken. Nothing too hyper due to the depressing situation they were in.

" _The flooding and high tide has seemed to subside a great deal overnight, looking to now be only about one inch deep. Thus, investigations for any casualties or survivors will take place this afterno-"_

Everest switched the T.V. back off. She heard what she wanted to hear, and didn't really want to think about any possible deaths that may have occurred. However, now that everybody was awake, Jake wanted to get the ball rolling.

"Alright guys, quick breakfast and let's go," he instructed, "We need to get down there as quickly as possible and make sure that nobody's hurt."

"Especially Ryder and the pups!" added Everest.

"Right," Jake continued, "One inch of water isn't going to stop us. Now everybody, let's get moving, we have no time to waste."

Everybody gathered up a small portion of breakfast and gobbled it down as fast they could. They were all so eager to find their friends and assess the damages. The whole gang boarded their separate cars and followed Jake and Everest down the mountain. Nobody said a word during the ride down, everybody kept to themselves. It was tense. They wanted to see how Adventure Bay now looked, but at the same time, they were terrified.

All that Jake, Katie, and Everest cared about was Ryder and the pups. As long as the whole squad was okay, no damage in all of Adventure Bay could upset them. Thus, they continued their journey down the mountain.

 **LINE (Ry,Z,Ru Awake)**

Zuma slowly drifted into consciousness and opened his eyes, followed by stretching his chocolate brown arms and legs while letting out a huge yawn. He shook the rest of his body awake and stood up, eyeing down Rubble who was still fast asleep.

 _Hmm, for once we get to sleep without Chase waking us up early,_ he thought and chuckled. Only, this made him remember the dire situation they were in, and caused him to realize that Chase was no longer with them, making him regret his little thought. He wanted to see Chase alive and well more than anything at the moment, along with the other three missing pups for that matter. Zuma sighed and whimpered, slowly lying down next to Rubble and nuzzling him to comfort his own sadness. At least he still had one pup around.

Rubble slowly woke up as well upon feeling Zuma's warm body against his. Noticing Zuma's sad expression, he quickly remembered the state that they were in and nuzzled him back for both Zuma's comfort and his own.

They were both so heartbroken inside; a chunk of their family possibly gone forever. It felt like somebody had just taken a knife and gouged our their tiny little hearts. It was just an empty feeling that was impossible to refill without the return of their friends, which looked to be out of the question. They were simply helpless.

After further inspection and basically just letting their eyes wander as they leaned their depressed bodies against each other, they noticed Ryder nowhere to be seen. Due to what they had experienced the prior day, the immediate response was panic.

"Rubble! Where's Ryder?" Zuma whimpered.

"I don't know! He was here when we fell asleep!" Rubble responded with fear.

Suddenly, as if on cue, their pup tags lit up which startled them a bit. On the other line came Ryder's voice, to which they let out a huge sigh of relief. However, Ryder's tone was anything but jolly.

"Pups.. sorry I left you alone down there, I'm just on the balcony," he began, "As much as it'll hurt you, and as much as I'd rather have you not see, you're gonna have to come across it eventually. Can you guys come up?"

Rubble and Zuma glanced up at each other with terrified looks.

"Y-yeah… just one second Ryder," Zuma compiled.

All Ryder did was hang up the call, there was nothing else to be said. Meanwhile Zuma and Rubble slowly but surely made their way to the elevator, filled with fear regarding what Ryder had to show them.

"W-what do you think is up there?" Rubble asked timidly.

"I don't know… but I'm scared," Zuma replied as they stepped into the elevator. They gave each other a hug while ascending up the Lookout, bracing themselves for what could possibly be awaiting them at the top. They let go upon hearing the ding of the elevator, and exited only to find Ryder leaning on the circular balcony railing in dismay. The two pups looked at each other, took a deep breath, and approached the boy.

As they reached his leg, Rubble looked up to their owner, "W-what did you want to show us Ryder?"

There was no response, all he did was just look up and out in the distance. Confused, Rubble looked towards Zuma who was also looked out into the distance, only his jaw was dropped and a tear or two streamed down his cheek. Rubble slowly gazed out into the city below and quickly learned what was troubling the other two. What was once the beautiful beachside town of Adventure Bay, now looked like a warzone; debris everywhere, only one building left standing, and about one inch water covering the ground.

Nobody spoke, there was nothing to be said. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see what was once their home which they dearly cherished, become an absolute wasteland. The three remained silent for some time. The only noise to fill the air was the distant crashing of waves down at the bay, to much of which they demised. It was a wave that put them in this mess. A wave that destroyed their town and separated their family. It was a wave that ruined their life.

Shortly after, another noise in the distance joined the sound of crashing water. It sounded like a vehicle, or maybe even _vehicles._ The trio looked up to see an ATV, a snow plow, a van, and a few other cars make their way into the city, or what was left of it, coming from the direction of Jake's mountain.

"Hey, it's Jake and Everest!" Rubble said somewhat enthusiastically.

"And it looks like Mayor Goodway is with them, and Katie, and Mr. Porter!" Rubble added.

Ryder couldn't help but at least half smile. In the midst of all this agony, it was relieving to know that many of their other friends had made it out okay, especially Katie for his concern. But one thing came to his mind while watching them all return. Why were they all at Jake's mountain? Did they somehow _know_ that this was coming?

"Well, no sense in just standing here and mourning," Ryder sighed, finally moving from his position on the balcony, "We might as well go down there and greet them. Then we can start searching for the pups."

The two pups nodded and followed Ryder to the elevator. As it began descending, the silence among them was starting to get unreasonable and annoying, seeing as there was no way they could work together to find the pups without communicating. Zuma took it upon himself to get a conversation going

"So Ryder.. how are we going to find them?" the chocolate lab inquired, "There's damage and the wave was enormous. It could have taken them anywhere."

"Well Zuma, we can start here in Adventure Bay. It's the best we can do for now," he reasoned, "No stone will go unturned."

"But.. what if we they aren't here?" Zuma asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he replied dryly, hoping that it wouldn't be the case.

"Ryder… w-what if they're.. d-" Rubble tried to spit out before Ryder interrupted.

"We'll find them alive Rubble, I'm sure we will," Ryder assured him, although he didn't even know if _he_ believed his own words, let alone Rubble.

The rest of the ride down remained quiet, as the conversation was kind of taking a dark turn. Upon arriving at the bottom, the noise of vehicles idling was louder than ever. They exited the elevator doors at the same time the Lookout's front door slid open. There stood Jake, Katie, and Everest.

"Oh my gosh! You're okay!" Katie cried as she ran up to Ryder and wrapped her arms around him.

"Yeah Ryder dude, we were pretty worried," Jake said as he jogged over and made it a group hug.

"Well, we're lucky the Lookout is up on top of a cliff, I guess," Ryder gave a slight chuckle to try and hide his sadness.

Meanwhile Everest pounced on the chocolate lab and bulldog, covering them with puppy licks. "Thank goodness you guys are okay! I could hardly sleep last night," she exhaled.

Rubble and Zuma responded by returning the hug she gave them. However the two gave each other a knowing look that they all, in fact, _weren't_ okay. And they would have to break the news to her. About Chase, Skye, Rocky, and worst of all for her, Marshall.

Now that the hugging had broken apart came the difficult part, and Everest got it started.

"So, are all the other pups still sleeping?" she giggled. Katie and Jake looked towards Ryder, curious to know where the other pups were as well. None of them expected what they were about to find out.

Rubble and Zuma looked at each other again, and their somewhat happy expressions they had a few moments ago were instantly drained from their faces. Ryder swallowed hard at Everest's remark, and his eyes became a little watery. Neither the pups nor Ryder knew how to break it to them, in fact they still weren't even really able to accept it themselves. However, their reaction started to give things away.

"What's wrong? Why are you guys not…" Everest paused as she began to put the pieces together, "No… It can't be…please! Please tell me they're here somewhere!"

Jake and Katie gasped as they too realized what must have happened after a tear rolled down Ryder's cheek.

"Ryder…" Katie whispered as she covered her mouth in disbelief. Both her and Jake's heart just sank right into their gut as Ryder collapsed into his knees allowing the waterworks to flow. At this point, all the pups were now crying too. Everest was on her belly and in tears, agonizing over the lost pups, especially Marshall. The other two sat in front of her with tears streaming down their muzzles. Zuma gave Everest a friendly rub on the back with his paw but the sadness remained.

Jake and Katie knelt down towards Ryder, pulling him into a hug again. Tears now began to form in their eyes as they realized four of the pups they knew and love were supposedly gone, forever.

There was a very long silence; not a single person spoke a word or even moved for that matter. They were all too distraught and shocked. However, eventually Everest's loud personality kicked back in and she began to ask questions.

"How did you guys manage to survive but Marshall... and the others didn't?" Everest questioned through the sorrow of her tears.

Jake and Katie finally let go of Ryder to give him a little space and allow him to answer Everest's question.

"Th-they were all at the beach when it happened…" Ryder sniffed, "It was such a hot day so I just... l-let them go. Us three were back here working when we saw the… the w-wave… And by then it was too late."

He buried his face into his hands after explaining and reliving the terror he went through in that moment yesterday. Katie ran her hand through his hair, trying to be as comforting as possible. However, something didn't add up.

"But Ryder," Katie began, "Why would you let them go to the beach? Didn't you get the warning messages?"

Ryder looked up with a confused daze, "Huh? Warning messages?"

"Yeah dude," Jake chimed in, "We even got them out at our cabin."

"What!? Why didn't we-" Ryder began to rant but quickly realized the reason why the warning messages never reached the Lookout. "Oh.. that's right," he sighed.

"What Ryder?" Katie asked, "What happened?"

"Our satellite," he explained, "It went down probably an hour before the wave came…"

Rubble and Zuma instantly looked up as their poor little souls crumbled at hearing Ryder's words. They began comprehending all that happened and realized that it could have all been avoided had the satellite not broken in the first place.

"It..it was our fault.." Rubble stuttered as the whole crew laid eyes on Zuma and him. Before anybody could even question what they meant, Ryder ran over to them and picked them up, hugging them tight.

"No, no, no pups. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't," Ryder repeated as the two pups buried their faces into his chest, "It was an accident, you both know that. You couldn't have possibly known what was to come. It wasn't your fault."

Katie and Jake, although not really knowing what this was about, came to Ryder's aid and hugged Rubble and Zuma some more. Meanwhile, Everest was still on the ground struggling to accept the truth.

 _Why? Why did this have to happen?_ She questioned in her thoughts as tears continued to fall from her face. _Oh Marshall, please be okay,_ she begged, _I can't lose you! Not you. Not the other pups._

Katie was now holding Rubble while Zuma was still in Ryder's arms. The construction pup did a good job at calming down and composing himself, but Zuma was still in absolute despair. Ryder could tell that it wasn't just the satellite incident that was bothering him.

"Zuma what's wrong? Please tell me," Ryder tried to persuade the distressed pup. Zuma looked up and sniffed a few times before opening his mouth.

"Ryder… I-I knew about the tsunami. I knew something bad was going to happen," he continued crying. This got the attention of everyone else.

"What do you mean Zuma? How could you have known?" Ryder looked perplexed.

"It..it was Rocky!" he cried, thinking about his best friend who was now gone, "He has been having these nightmares for the past week, and they were all related to water. He came to me for help but I just… s-shrugged it off. I told him it was nothing. But it _was_ something. It was a warning, and I ignored it. Now he's… g-gone."

The chocolate lab buried his head into Ryder once again as the boy and the rest of the gang stood in shock as to what they just heard. In no way was it Zuma's fault, but it was almost unbelievable that Rocky was somehow receiving warning signs in his dreams.

"Aw Zuma dude. It wasn't your fault," consoled Jake, "You were thinking logically to try and help Rocky feel better. We would have done the same."

"Jake's right," Ryder continued on, "None of us could have seen this coming. You did your best to make Rocky feel better and I'm sure you helped him out."

Zuma looked up once again, his eyes stained red with tears, but for once he managed to stop crying.

"I guess you guys are right," Zuma concluded, "I.. I just wish he were here right now. The other pups too."

"What are we waiting for?" Katie exclaimed, surprising everyone with her determination, "The pups could still be out there as we speak. And as members of the Paw Patrol, we have to find them!"

"No job is too big, no pup is too small!" Jake chimed into her enthusiasm.

Everest shot up at this proposal. "Yes!" the husky agreed, "Let's go now! I know they're out there somewhere, I just know it!"

Ryder looked at his two pups, "Are you guys ready to go back out there?"

Zuma and Rubble looked at each other and nodded.

"If it means saving the pups, we're all in," assured Rubble.

"Alright dudes! Let's head out!" Jake waved them over to the door, "We have no time to lose!"

Katie and Ryder put Rubble and Zuma back on the ground as they all made their way outside. The pups got into their own vehicles while Jake and Katie hopped on their four-wheelers. Upon approaching his, Ryder looked up as he went to put his helmet on only to be greeted with the destruction down at the bay.

Back when he first saw the town, he was shellshocked and having trouble comprehending the reality of the situation. Now that he was thinking more logically and seeing the devastation for the second time, a lump formed in his throat once again. Although he managed to keep a lid on his emotions this time, the distress was still there. Everything was absolutely obliterated, from the Katie's Salon to Mr. Porter's restaurant.

Ryder did have hope, but he didn't think his pups or anybody that was in the wave's path could have possibly survived it.

* * *

 **Despite all the devastation and despair, one thing can be said. There's hope. There may only be a small amount, but it makes all the difference in a situation as dire as this. After all, miracles can happen.**

 **SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:**

 **Last chapter I said I was slacking off which was why I hadn't uploaded. Well... I lied... sort of. That was half of the case. I had actually also been working on something else, something that will appeal to those ChasexSkye fans out there, like me ;). With that, I present:**

 ** _A Love Story - Chase & Skye Tribute_ (Channel: Swarm X) Go search it up on YouTube! :)**

 **Or copy and paste this,** _ **/watch?v=ykANBykAQ8I**_ **into the URL bar after 'com'.**

 **Yeah, kinda nerdy and/or weird to make a whole video, I know. I just couldn't help it. I saw other videos on YouTube and kind of got inspired. I'm not the best at video editing, I have some experience, but I tried my best. Hopefully at least some of you like it, I know not everyone ships ChasexSkye, but I do and I know other do too.**

 **Regardless of whether you like the video, I hope you liked the chapter. You guys give me so much support and I appreciate it so much. New chapter coming in the future, don't forget to leave a suggestion about one of the two options mentioned at the first author's note! Until next time! :)**

 **~SwarmX**


	8. The Forest

**Sorry to keep you guys waiting! Tried making this chapter short but couldn't, another 4k+. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing though. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!**

 **P.S. Thank you for all the support on my video! Means a lot :)**

* * *

Wooden beams, smashed concrete, overturned cars. Just a fraction of what now was scattered across the city. That's not even including all of the excess water that was left in the streets and fields. There were no more city blocks; all the buildings had been flattened. Just rectangular roads that were covered in debris remained.

Ryder & co. slowly and painfully maneuvered their way through all of the rubble and wreckage. They passed by many citizens who were staring at what used to be their beloved city. They passed by Mr. Porter, who held Alex's hand as they stared at what was left of his restaurant. They saw City Hall standing tall and for the most part unharmed. They also drove by Katie's salon, which was absolutely destroyed like the rest of Adventure Bay. Katie just let out a sigh as they passed.

After their dreadful journey through the town, they parked their vehicles on the beach and began discussing their game plan.

"Okay pups, we have absolutely no time to lose," Ryder tried to get them pumped, "They could be anywhere out here. Under debris, up in a tree, maybe in a surviving building. I don't want a single stone unturned. I know you guys want to find them just as much as I do and we won't stop until—"

"RYDER! Oh Ryder! Thank heavens you're okay!" Mayor Goodway exclaimed as she ran over to them.

"Glad to see you're okay too, Mayor," Ryder smiled.

"Ryder dear, we have so much work to do, look at this place! It's a disaster! I was thinking…" Mayor Goodway began to ramble on as Ryder tried getting her attention.

"Uhm, Mayor?"

"...Chase could direct traffic, Skye could search for survivors from above, Rubble could move debris out of the way, Zuma could-"

"Mayor," Ryder said more firmly, getting her attention, "I'm sorry, but we can't help you right now."

Mayor Goodway looked shocked. She didn't even need to say a word before Ryder knew he had to explain.

"You see.." he sighed, "Not.. _all_ of the Paw Patrol actually escaped the tsunami. And they're more important to us than the city right now."

Upon hearing this, the Mayor also noticed that only two of the pups were present, causing the colour to drain from her face. "Oh Ryder.. I'm so sorry," she gasped as she gave Ryder the biggest and tightest of hugs.

Before Ryder could even respond, she began rambling once again. "We'll start a huge search party! I'll go and tell everybody out here on the streets to stop what they're doing and try to find the pups! They are our number one priority!" And just as quickly as she appeared, she was off.

"Well that should be a major help," voiced Jake.

"For sure! We could probably uncover the whole city in _half_ the time now," Katie added.

"Well, let's get started then!" exclaimed an eager and somewhat desperate Everest, receiving nods from Rubble and Zuma.

"Alrighty then, we can start on the beach," Ryder instructed, "Zuma, use your hovercraft to search the bay and see if there's any sign of life out on the water. Everest, you can go with him as an extra pair of eyes."

"Let's dive in!" Zuma shouted in determination.

"Ice or snow, I'm ready to go!" Everest followed up.

"Rubble," Ryder continued, "Mayor Goodway brought up a good point, you can clear up some debris with your rig while we search. It will make it easier to move around and spot anyone. The three of us will scour the perimeter of the beach while you clear."

"Rubble on the double!" the bulldog proclaimed.

"Sounds like a plan!" Katie compiled while Jake nodded.

"Well.. this is it guys," Ryder's tone and expression became much more serious as he looked at all of them, "The fate of the Paw Patrol rests in our hands. Let's go out and find them."

"Everyone in now, come on!" Jake encourage them as he put his fist in for a cheer. Ryder and Katie followed by putting their fists in too, while the pups put their paws in. They all knew what to say.

"Paw Patrol is on a roll!" They cheered in unison.

And with that, they went on their way. Zuma and Everest into the bay, Jake, Katie, Ryder and Rubble on the beach.

* * *

The german shepherd pup stretched out his front and hind legs as he awoke from his deep sleep. His eyes opened and began to adjust as he stood up. However, he was greeted with a strong jolt of pain through his hind leg. Chase fell back to the ground in agony as he not only remembered his injured foot, but that he was lost in a huge forest miles away from home.

Chase felt his eyes become watery as a lump began to form in his throat. He tried ever so hard to resist.

"No!" the shepherd shook his head, "I'm a police pup. Police pups don't cry, they're tough!"

For as long as he and anybody else could remember, Chase hadn't cried since he was born, and he certainly didn't want end that streak now. Despite the situation, he still was a police pup and knowing that, he embraced the pain and began to limp onward.

Chase didn't exactly know where he was going, but he had to make an attempt to escape the forest; he couldn't sit there and let fate decide his future for him. He couldn't let Ryder and the pups down, whether they were alive and anxiously waiting to find him, or dead and watching over him from above.

It was turning out to be quite the journey too. Chase had spent about five minutes on the narrow muddy trail that led through the forest, and he'd already seen more trees and plants than in any forest back in Adventure Bay. The police pup was quite astounded, but couldn't keep his mind focused on his surroundings. Unfortunately, it was mostly filled with worry.

"How on earth am I going to find my way out of here.." he sighed.

In every direction he looked, there was the colour green; whether it be trees, bushes, or grass. To make things worse, although he was trying to act tough and power through it, the pain in his leg was excruciating and he couldn't keep his mind off of that either.

"Either this forest is going to kill me, or it's going to be my leg," he continued to talk to himself.

Chase lasted about two more minutes until his tough, police pup personality could no longer withstand the discomfort in his leg. He sat down and started to pant, not realizing how tiring it was to make his way through the rugged terrain, especially with a broken leg. The german shepherd looked back and analyzed his leg. It had a few minor cuts but was really swollen. Luckily, being Marshall's best friend, he knew a thing or two about being a medical pup.

Only, before he could get started on his leg, the thought of Marshall brought him to a halt. Chase flashed back to the last moment he shared with Marshall. He remembered barely getting a grasp of his buddy's paw, and then watching the poor pup's face drain of emotion as he fell further and further from the dally until the wave gobbled him up. Not moments before that, the two were absolutely livid with each other; arguing over something that was completely ridiculous and pointless. That was the last moment they shared together. The thought made Chase upset. What if the shepherd didn't make it, and that _was_ the last thing they did? This only made the police pup more determined.

"Don't worry Marshall, I'm coming," he promised.

Chase got to work on his leg. He had no medical resources, but improvised with the knowledge he had. To ease the swelling and prevent his cuts from getting infected, he completely wrapped his leg in leaves, using them as an alternative to bandages. Essentially, the only thing that would actually help his broken leg was a cast, so he made his own. The diverse vegetation that the forest offered was a big help. Chase broke some twigs off of bushes to use as splints, and then tied them all together onto his leg with some strong vine he found. It wasn't the best job, nor was it the prettiest thing, but Chase knew it would help him out a lot in the long run.

Rather than instantly continuing on his way, Chase decided to rest for a little while. Maybe an hour or so. Much to his demise, seeing as he wanted to get out of the forest as soon as possible, rest seemed key to Chase's survival, mainly due to his leg. Especially without food, he couldn't push himself as far as he'd like to without worrying about dehydration and exhaustion. He could tell it was going to be a _long_ journey out of these woods.

 _ **SNAP**_

Chase's eyes and ears shot up at the sudden snap of a branch. He didn't realize it until now, but prior to that noise, the forest was almost completely silent besides his own voice. That wasn't typical for a forest, especially one with such dense and diverse plant life. As he started to think more about it, Chase began to worry. In fact, he even began to feel a bit scared. Was there a _reason_ no animals were present in these woods? More importantly, Chase thought to himself, _If there aren't any animals in this forest… then what was that?_

The german shepherd's hairs raised on the back of his neck. That feeling of somebody's watching you fell upon him. He no longer cared about resting his leg, this uneasy feeling was too dominant. Chase stood up carefully and began to walk away very anxiously. He hadn't felt this much adrenaline since the wave yesterday; it completely ceased the pain in his leg. Suddenly, after Chase moved about five yards from his spot, a loud rustle of leaves came from the trees above. Chase didn't look, but he knew something was watching him. Even worse, _following_ him.

After a slight pause, Chase began to make a break for it. He ignored the pain in his leg, as he feared much worse would happen to him if that.. _thing_ got to him. The police pup used his speed and stamina to weave his way up and down the terrain and winding path. Through his focus on escaping, he wasn't able to tell if the rustling of leaves had continued or not, but he ran regardless. That was when he spotted his saving grace; a large flat piece of concrete that was held up by a few stones. Without questioning the peculiarity, Chase dove underneath it and covered his mouth as he began to ferociously pant. Silence once again plagued the forest. No more leaves rustling, no more twigs snapping. Chase could at last let out a sigh of relief.

Now that the german shepherd had set his mind straight again, he could focus on more important things. The cast seemed to be doing its job. Despite some minor pain, his frantic dash through the forest didn't really do much damage. To add onto the positives, Chase had made a lot of ground by doing that; the more ground he covered, the closer he was to home.

Chase slowly exited from beneath the concrete when a scent hit him right in the nose. He began sniffing as if it were a routine job back in Adventure Bay with the Paw Patrol.

"It smells like… Marshall?" he tilted his head in confusion, " And Rocky.. And SKYE?!"

Chase burst into life again, only this time it was out of joy. His nose was glued to the ground as he began tracking his friends' scent. Only, his joy was cut short when the trail ended at the piece of concrete.

He once again tilted his head with a perplexed look on his face while analyzing the concrete. _It kind of looks like part of a.. roof._ It hit him like a ton of bricks. Chase recognized the sandy colour that was painted on the concrete. It was the colour of Mr. Porter's building. The building that he helped his friends on top of when the tsunami arrived. The building that he thought all three of his friends survived on. And now, lying here in front of him, was a piece of that same building, which Chase now realized, must collapsed under the immense pressure of the wave.

The police pup felt sick to his stomach. It was an absolute miracle that _he_ managed to survive the tsunami. He was on the brink of drowning. Surely it was impossible that all four of them could have survived such a devastating disaster. At least, that was what Chase's logical side was telling him. The other wished and even begged that the three of his friends somehow could have survived this tragedy. It was too much to take in; Chase was in shock.

The shepherd lied down on top of the concrete, precisely where the scent of his friends were, so he could soak it all up. Even now he refused to cry; it was difficult, and harder than last time, but he managed. He inhaled and exhaled deep breaths one after another. Until he was able to come to his senses again, all Chase could do was lie there and hope.

* * *

"Ouch!" winced Skye as she abruptly woke up from her sleep. The adrenaline and fear that was in her body caused the pup to have some unpleasant dreams. The poor cockapoo was so startled she smacked her head off of the top of the log as she woke up.

After rubbing her head with an annoyed groan, her eyes began to adjust. There were a few dim rays of sunlight peeking through holes of the log, allowing her to see. It was finally daytime. However, after walking out of the log, Skye realized that the differences between night and day in the forest were quite minimal. With all of the trees and plants, the only indicator was the small portion of sunlight that happened to make it through all of the thick, towering tree branches.

Skye shook herself off and tried to recall what she was doing last. _I know I was trying to escape this forest,_ she thought, _but there was something else…_

Skye thought long and hard about the memory that was teasing her brain. It only clicked to her when she looked back at the log.

 _Aha! I was being… chased?_ She gave herself a perplexed look. _No, that was just a dream… wasn't it?_

This forest was playing tricks on Skye's mind. Not only was it extremely confusing to navigate, it was making her dream terrible things and question reality; something the cockapoo was not accustomed to because of her quick and sharp thinking. This forest was truly something, but it was definitely not a good thing.

After thinking a little bit too hard, Skye dropped the subject from her mind and began focusing on the more important matter. Finding a way back home. Struggling to remember the previous day didn't seem to be much of a problem to Skye, seeing as the forest was so disorienting. She just continued on along the trail that was next to the log where she spent the night.

A few steps in, however, she paused. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something on the log. Something that wasn't there when she first arrived. After going to get a closer look, it seemed as though someone, or some _thing,_ carved some type of symbol into the log. It looked like an unfinished 'A'; it was just missing the horizontal line that connects the two slashes.

 _Why would someone carve an 'A' into a log and not finish it?_ Skye looked it it puzzlingly, _Actually, why would someone even carve an 'A' into a log in the first place?_

The events that were occurring in this forest were really starting to tick Skye off. They simply made no sense and were quite unsettling. However, after shrugging it off and starting to walk away, she realized something that made her heart sink.

If _she_ didn't scrape that unfinished 'A' into the log, then that meant someone _else_ did, and they were in that forest with her. It was at that moment it hit her. Her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. Something _did_ chase her through the forest the previous night, and there was a very good chance that _it_ was the one who marked the log as well.

Skye gulped as she began quickly walking away, once again shutting the thoughts out of her mind and solely focusing on escaping. She didn't stop nor look back until she was miles away from that log. As far as she was concerned, she never wanted to see it again.

After about a half hour of speed walking out of there, Skye began to finally slow down. She was no doubt far enough away from where she had her odd encounter, and she wanted to preserve some energy, seeing as she didn't have much food or water.

That was another huge factor that Skye had only begun to think seriously about now. She didn't exactly remember how long someone could last without food and water, but she knew it wasn't very long; especially for water. Now not only was she looking for a way out, but water as well. It felt like she was in some survival T.V. show or movie, and quite frankly, she was not enjoying it.

Time continued to go by, but all that passed by Skye were trees; hundreds of them, if not thousands. If the poor cockapoo didn't know any better, she would've assumed she was back where she started. It was utterly confusing and quite boring, which kept her mind active and wide awake.

Try as she might, Skye just couldn't stop thinking negatively, which is truly uncharacteristic of the little aviation pup. She would begin to think about possibly never escaping the realms of this forest which introduced the thought of death into her mind. This would then remind her of her deceased friends; Chase, Marshall, Rocky, and maybe more for all she knew. And then her train of thought would be lead to Ryder and any other friends that may have possibly survived. She couldn't even imagine how devastated they would be to realize and accept that the Paw Patrol would be no more. Of course, this did in fact spark a little determination in Skye to get out of the forest and reveal that she had survived; but after ten more minutes of walking, the pessimistic thoughts would renter her mind and the cycle would continue.

Not only that, but every so often the image of that unfinished 'A' would pop into her brain. And was quick as it popped in, the quicker it popped out. Skye simply didn't want to think of it. That is, until she looked at it from a different perspective.

 _Hmm, maybe that 'A' wasn't a bad thing… Maybe it was one of the pups!_ She fantasized. _I mean, the word 'alive' starts with 'A'. What if one of the pups was trying to tell me that?_

Her hopeful thoughts were quickly shunned when something from the corner of Skye's eye grabbed her attention, immediately making her heart sink. Only, when she turned and looked, there was nothing. She shrugged it off and continued on her way. Not five minutes later, she saw the same thing again in the corner of her eye, but this time, it was on the other side. Skye got goosebumps, but nevertheless kept going. _Maybe it was just a coincidence,_ she thought.

Then she saw it again, but it wasn't in the corner of her eye. About twenty-five yards ahead, a shadowy figure quickly and swiftly crossed from behind one tree to another. Skye was beginning to question whether these were truly in her head, or something was actually stalking her.

 _It's okay Skye,_ she tried calming herself, _it must be in your head. Don't think about it, just focus on finding your way out of here._

She proceeded walking, only, she was now looking down and increasing her speed a little. It wasn't really ideal to look at the ground and walk but as long as it took her mind off of the supposed hallucinations, she couldn't care less. Besides, looking up at the never ending trees wasn't really helping her find her way, so what harm was looking at the ground going to do.

After what seemed like ages of walking in that awkward position, Skye's neck was starting to hurt and it was actually beginning to make her quite sleepy. With her eyes half closed and not paying attention to where she was going, she walked her way directly into a creek. Luckily she was only in a few inches deep, but the splash instantly regained her attention and actually startled her a bit.

"Ah shoot, now I'm all wet," she complained. Fatigue was seeming to have quite an affect on her, seeing as it took her a moment or two to realize the obvious.

"Wait, WATER!" the cockapoo joyfully exclaimed. One huge problem was now out of the way; finding a source of water. It wasn't the cleanest, but it was something. Not to mention, it was _freshwater_.

As thankful as ever, Skye bent down and began taking large sips of the water. She closed her eyes as she replenished her thirst. The cool water that was gently flowing past her paws was chilly at first, but now felt so relaxing. As she lifted her head, she focused her eyes on her reflection on the water's surface as the ripples slowly ceased. The image eventually became clear and Skye got to see herself for the first time in a few days.

"Boy, do I look tired," she chuckled.

Then something caught her attention. There was something else in the reflection, it was behind her, but she couldn't make it out. It was dark and looked to be a pretty tall figure… just like that shadow form earlier. As soon as Skye processed this, before she had any time to react, she felt something very cold touch the back of her neck.

"AHHH!" the petrified cockapoo yelped. She turned around in a flash as her cry echoed throughout the forest.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing was there. Not even a trace. She looked in every direction, completely baffled. She then looked back at her reflection. The figure was no longer there either. It was getting to be too much for Skye. She didn't know what it was or why it was happening, but this forest was driving her insane.

Sleep was all Skye wanted at the moment. She didn't know what time it was and didn't know how long she was walking, but it felt like forever. Running around and experiencing all this terror was exhausting. She'd rather have nightmares in her sleep than be awake and have to question whether her nightmares were coming to life. But as she rested against a few large stones, bad dreams were the last thing on her mind.

Tears started to roll down her cheeks. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She had accepted that she'd possibly never see her friends again. She'd even accepted that some may not even be alive. But just because she had accepted all this, didn't mean it wasn't going to be heartbreaking.

 _Poor Rocky,_ Skye thought as her tears multiplied. _Any_ pup didn't stand a chance against that wave, let alone Rocky in his horrified state. Skye could just picture how helpless he would have been in the wave's realm while his fear paralyzed him. The cockapoo had a great fear of eagles and she couldn't begin to imagine how Rocky must have felt when the wave took them and the building under. It made her so sad and pitiful.

Then there was innocent ol' Marshall. It all happened so fast that Skye didn't even get to see where he ended up, but she knew his clumsy traits definitely wouldn't have helped him during the situation. Sure, the dally's poor coordination was a lot of fun and made hilarious memories back at the Lookout, but it such a dire situation, it must have been a disadvantage. She hadn't a clue where Marshall may have ended up but she prayed that he would have overcame his clumsiness while trying to survive the wave's rage.

 _Chase…_ she sighed. The thought of the pup that was so dear to her caused the volume of her cries to go from silent to blaring. In such a dramatic and devastating way, Skye was forced to watch the german shepherd be ripped right from her grasp. Her teammate, her lifelong friend, her love. Gone within the blink of an eye. It was such an unbelievable and traumatic thought, yet it happened to her. It was real. And there was nothing she could do, but cry. Before going to sleep, in one last desperate attempt to savour some hope, the cockapoo looked towards the sky and spoke softly

"Please be okay guys. Chase, Marshall, Rocky... all of you. Please."

 **What a terrifying situation, I know I wouldn't want to be in Skye's shoes... or _paws_. But what could all these mysterious shadows be...**

 **Next chapter coming soon! Hope you enjoyed Chaster 8!**

 **~SwarmX**


	9. Losing Hope

**Well, it's been a month and I'm back again. Sorry for the wait again, trust me, I'd love to be here updating more often, but I have a social life too :/ Not to mention school is _KILLING_ me right now. Anyway, so if you haven't noticed by now, I've gone with the monthly updating suggestion with longer chapters (Around 4k). Quality over quantity as they say. Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions regardless, I appreciate feedback. It's been a pretty long wait, so I hope this chapter is worth it :) Enjoy.**

* * *

Rocky's eyelids slowly began to open as the early morning sunlight shone into the mouth of the cave. He stretched out all four legs and let out a long, tired yawn as he stood up and fully woke himself up. After stumbling to the cave's entrance, the mixed breed was greeted with the beautiful pink and orange sky as the sun rose in the distance. It was such an amazing sight, it left him speechless. He wanted to share it with someone; he wanted to share it with the pups. Rocky looked down and sighed. He knew that wasn't an option anymore. His friends were gone. However, there was _someone_ he could share it with.

"Valak?" Rocky called as he looked back into the cave.

No answer. As a matter of fact, Rocky didn't remember him being there when he woke up only moments ago. The mixed breed shrugged and carefully made his way down the small rocky slope and into the small clearing outside the cave. It was a circular dirt area, about twenty feet in diameter right next to the cave's opening. Beyond that were enormous trees that guarded the realm of the forest. It was kind of eerie standing in the middle of that rough patch, surrounded by the ghostly woods. It gave Rocky the shivers.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Rocky let out a high pitched yelp as he turned around and jumped back. It was Valak.

"Ohh it's just you," Rocky sighed of relief. "You scared the hell out of me."

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE CAVE?" Valak barked at him.

Rocky gulped, "I-I was just looking for you… Sorry."

"Looks like he have to go over some _ground_ rules," the wolf sneered, "Don't EVER leave the cave unless you're with me. Understand?"

"Understood," Rocky uttered.

"Good, it's uhh.. dangerous out there," Valak stuttered.

"Don't worry, I won't," the mixed breed obeyed. Valak's tone made sure he got the message. "What were you doing out there anyway?"

"Oh… I was uhh, looking for food," Valak stammered, "Yeah, I usually go out this early to find food 'cause, uhh.. it's so hard to find. Hence why I don't have any for us now."

"Aww that's too bad, sorry to hear it," consoled Rocky, "But I couldn't really care less about food right now. I just want to look for my friends, empty stomach or not. I'd rather starve while looking for them than just sit here and eat, making no effort to try and find them. I'd rather-"

"Alright, alright, I get it," Valak rolled his eyes, "We'll go out and look for them. But I can't promise anything. You and I both know how bad that wave was."

"Thanks, Valak." Rocky smiled, followed by the mixed breed nuzzling his chest.

"Yeah, yeah," Valak sighed, "Now let's get on with it. You want to find them don't you?"

"Oh yes, do I ever" Rocky looked up at him. Valak nodded his head forward in response, and the two of them made their way into the dark, menacing forest.

As Rocky entered the forest for the first time, he got cold chills down his spine. Adventure Bay had some small forests, but this was like a jungle. Trees, vines and bushes as far as the eye can see. They walked along a narrow dirt path winding in and between the enormous tree trunks and branches. It continued on this forever. However, something was a bit off, and being an environmentalist pup, Rocky picked it out.

There was absolutely no sign of animal life.

No birds singing, no crickets chirping, not even the mosquitoes were out. It created a silence that was unsettling to say the least. It probably didn't help that both of them hadn't been talking for the past half hour since they began looking. To be fair, Rocky had been so focused on looking for his friends he didn't even notice until he just thought of it now. But Valak.. there was just something strange about him, and his complete and utter silence didn't help his case.

"So.. uh, you go through here a lot?" Rocky tried to spark up a conversation.

"Yeah, I guess," Valak blankly answered.

"So you pretty much know your way around, huh," Rocky continued.

"I suppose," he replied.

Valak sure was making it hard for Rocky to try and talk to him. Whether that was his intention or not, the mixed breed wasn't sure. But that didn't stop him from trying. Anything was better than that discomforting silence that filled the forest.

While trying to think of another topic to chat about, Rocky noticed something on a nearby tree trunk and stopped dead in his tracks. This finally got Valak talking.

"What's the matter?" he questioned.

"Look at this!" the mixed breed exclaimed, "It's some sort of symbol!"

Rocky instantly started thinking optimistically. After finding no sign of life for some time now, there was finally a reason to have hope.

"It looks kind of like an 'A'," Rocky concluded, "But it's unfinished."

"Ehh, don't mean to rain on your parade but-" Valak began before being cut off.

"What if the 'A' stands for 'alive'! I KNEW THE PUPS WERE ALIVE!" Rocky prematurely assumed.

"Settle down there Rocky," Valak interrupted him, "Now I don't want to spoil your optimism but that symbol could be anything."

Rocky stopped and looked at Valak, then back at the tree.

"I guess you're right," he sighed and calmed down, "I'm just so desperate to find them that I guess I'm getting a bit carried away."

"Listen, I'm not saying it isn't a sign of your friends, it very well could be," Valak tried to reason with him, "But you can't be sure, and the worst thing would be to get hyped up only to be let down eventually."

"Yeah, that's true," Rocky agreed, "I just hope that this is a good sign."

"Well, we'll never know unless we carry on," the black wolf declared, "Let's go."

Rocky smiled and continued to walk alongside him. Valak seemed a bit more friendlier now. The mixed breed wondered if something may have ticked him off this morning. Or maybe something had just happened in the past few minutes that put him in a good mood. _Hm, whatever,_ Rocky shrugged. He disregarded these thoughts and proceeded to look for his friends.

However, all that their venture consisted of was hours and hours of walking to no particular destination. So many trees had gone by, it was impossible to to tell whether they were the same ones or not. For all Rocky knew, they could have been walking in circles for the past three hours.

Then they came across a faint sound. It may have been quiet, but the silence that filled the air of the forest made it highly audible. _Wait, that sounds like…_ Rocky thought as the sound grew louder.

"WATER!" the mixed breed shrieked and darted away from the path.

"Hey! Rocky!" Valak shouted as he ran after him. "Get back here!"

Ever since the tsunami yesterday, even the slightest thought of rushing water instantly triggered the poor pup's hydrophobia, sending him delirious. Rocky leaped over bushes and crawled under branches; he was in total panic mode and was just running freely. After bursting through one final set of brush, he stumbled across a creek that stopped him dead in his tracks.

He let out a gasp as he panted while trying to catch his breath. _Ugh, it was just a small stream. Get a grip of yourself Rocky!_ The mixed breed scolded himself. Once he calmed down and was able to think again, he realized that this tiny stream of water was no threat to him, even if its water did make his fur feel gross.

Seeing as they had spent a good few hours searching, Rocky figured it was a good idea to refresh himself with a nice drink of cool water. As he gulped down the water from the small creek, Valak burst through the bushes behind him, causing the mixed breed to jump.

"Rocky! Don't you remember how I told you it was dangerous out in these woods," Valak scolded.

"Yeah I do, I'm sorry Valak," Rocky apologized, slightly embarrassed of hi sudden outburst. "It's just this whole near-drowning experience has got me terrified of water and I just.. Flipped."

"It's alright, I understand," Valak comforted, "Just _please_ try and stick with me for the rest of the day."

"You can count on me Valak!" promised Rocky.

"Alright, good," the wolf nodded. "Anyway, let's go on back to the path now."

"But Valak!" Rocky halted him, "Don't you think it'd be smart to follow this river? I mean, I'm sure that's what the pups would do since there's an endless amount of fresh water to drink. Well, that is, if they're alive…"

Valak looked back with a half-convinced face, "I don't know Rocky, I think the path might be b-"

"Shhh! Wait!" Rocky interrupted, "What's that?"

A bit stunned at first, Valak silenced himself and tried to tune in on what the mixed breed was hearing. Rocky, too, went silent as he concentrated more on the faint sound in the distance.

"It sounds like… snoring?" Rocky whispered, "And it's coming from across the river, behind that huge stone."

Rocky looked at Valak and then back at the stone. Upon further notice, Rocky saw something familiar.

"Look, on the rock next to the tree," indicated Rocky, "It looks like… THE UNFINISHED 'A'! It must be one of the pups!"

Before Rocky could go any further, Valak stopped him.

"Rocky, it's time to go back," Valak coldly instructed.

Rocky turned around with a shocked and disappointed look. "...What? Why?" the mixed breed whined, "We just found some solid evidence and-"

"Now!" Valak intimidated, causing him to gulp.

The black wolf began walking back towards the path. Rocky took one long and painful look back across the river and whimpered. He then slowly began to follow Valak back to the cave, uttering a quiet and depressing sigh.

Quite to Rocky's surprise, it felt like they got back to the cave in half the time it took them to reach the river, which slightly raised the mixed breed's suspicions. Now that they were back at the cave, he wanted answers.

"Why did you do that?" Rocky demanded angrily. "I thought for a moment that I was going to find one of the pups and you just had to take us back. Why?"

Valak looked at Rocky, then the ground, and sighed.

"I didn't want to tell you when we were out there because I didn't want to scare you," Valak began, "But there's one creature in this forest that you do not want to mess with, and we came within yards of him."

Rocky's frustrated face slowly changed into an intrigued one. "So that wasn't one of the pups?" he questioned.

Valak shook his head. "That was… Antichrist," he continued, "Antichrist is a wolf that lives out here in these woods, just like me. There's only one difference, he's _evil_."

"Why? What does he do?" asked a deeply interested Rocky.

"He hunts at night. Not for food, but for lost, innocent souls here in the forest. He feeds off of them; off of other people's suffering," Valak explained, "People that are lost and have no one. _Pups_ that are lost and have no one. He feeds on them until they have no faith or hope left. Until they become a part of him. Forever."

Rocky's face drained as he realized what Valak was referring to. The wolf didn't want to directly say it, but the message got across. Antichrist fed on pups like Chase, Marshall and Skye. Pups that were lost, depressed and alone. He listened as Valak continued.

"Oh, and that 'A' symbol you keep seeing, that's _his_ symbol; A for Antichrist. He marks it wherever he finds and hunts down on his prey," Valak sighed, "That's why I initially didn't have much hope in going out to search for your friends. I didn't want to break it to you so early on after you awoke from such an experience. But now I have no choice. I'm sorry."

Rocky fought back the tears but reality was really hitting him hard at the moment. He still wanted to have hope that his friends were alive, but that was seeming to slip out of his grasp at this point. Nevertheless, Rocky wanted to see them again. He wanted solid evidence of their whereabouts; dead or alive.

"Don't be sorry, it's best that I knew," Rocky concluded, "That is, if I am going to have to accept it eventually."

Valak walked over and patted him on the back. "There, there," he comforted, "Things will get better."

Rocky looked back up at him with teary eyes and sniffed, "I know it's probably a waste of your time but, do you mind going out again tomorrow and looking. I just need to know if they're dead or alive. I won't be able to live without an answer."

"Sure Rocky, I can do that for you," Valak smiled, "Now get some sleep, we were out for a while today."

Rocky nodded and settled himself in the same spot where he fell asleep yesterday, as did Valak. The mixed breed looked over to Valak who gave him a wink before he closed his eyes. Once again, Valak looked at the mixed breed with a somewhat satisfied, but sinister grin. One that remained in his face until he, too, fell asleep for the night.

* * *

There was noise amongst the darkness. It was muffled, and she couldn't make it out. She was confused and a bit frightened. It sounded like two people talking, maybe even shouting… Then, as quickly as it came, it faded away into nothing.

Skye slowly opened her eyes and stretched from her deep sleep. Something woke the cockapoo up, only she didn't know what it was. Her vision was a bit wavy as she stood up and fully woke herself up. She walked over to the small creek and washed her face while also enjoying a refreshing drink. She was able to see and hear more clearly now.

In the distance, a slight rustle of brush could be heard along with a few occasional twig snaps. Luckily, it sounded like it was heading away from the aviary pup, but it still gave her the chills. However, it was nothing compared to the discovery that Skye was about to make.

The cockapoo turned around to step out of the stream when her heart skipped a beat. In the corner of her eye, on the large stone she had slept behind, there was a symbol. An unfinished 'A'. The same unfinished 'A' that she had seen on the log the day before. It was identical, and just as unsettling. Whatever or whoever was making these markings, was following her.

Skye was starting to become pretty worrisome at that point. What was happening in this forest? What was happening to her while she was asleep? More importantly, what hasn't already happened and is yet to come…

* * *

Marshall coughed violently as he spit water out of his mouth for what seemed like the one hundredth time. His hunger and thirst was beginning to take control of his body. The dally knew the ocean water wasn't healthy, but it was either that or nothing, and he couldn't resist despite its spiteful salty taste. Sometimes he was able to choke it down, but occasionally it was just too much.

Little did Marshall know, the salt water was much more damaging than just its nasty flavour. Every sip that Marshall took was slowly dehydrating him more and more. To make things even worse, the salt was only making him thirstier, causing the dehydration process to progress like a snowball tumbling down a Jake's Mountain.

Eventually Marshall had to stop. The filthy water was starting to make him nauseous and his throat was burning. The poor dally winced and plopped onto his belly, hoping the pain would go away, and not just the physical pain. He'd been adrift only for a day but it felt like weeks. Just him, and his soaking wet wooden board which was beginning to create mold. It was driving him nuts and he just wished someone would come along to keep him company.

Then there was the emotional pain. Reality was really settling in now that the medical pup had been alone with his thoughts for the past twenty-four hours, and hope was slowly diminishing. Earlier, the thought of a miracle happening still very much existed. A thought that he would survive and be saved along with his friends. But Marshall now knew that this was impossible, and it broke his heart having to accept that.

A mere five minutes later, Marshall opened his eyes only to squint at something far out in the water. It was a dark patch, too far away to determine what it was, but it stood out in the bright blue water of the ocean. Seeing as there was literally nothing else to do, it kept Marshall entertained. He was about to attempt to paddle over there, when it began moving side to side. It caught the dally by surprise and had his teal eyes glued to it. Suddenly, it started moving towards him. The closer it got, the more Marshall could make out what it was; and the closer it was, the more Marshall didn't like it.

It was a dorsal fin, and it definitely wasn't a dolphin. The pups had seen many dolphins back at the bay, even on Cap'n Turbot's boat. But this was much different.

In a panic, Marshall turned around and started paddling for his life. Every time he looked back the fin was closer, it was gaining on him. Marshall did say he wanted some company, but this sure isn't what he meant.

Eventually the dalmatian could see the shark's nose peak out of the water, ready to attack. He paddled and paddled, but it wasn't enough to help him escape. In sheer terror, Marshall shut his eyes and curled himself up into a ball, expecting the razor sharp teeth of the great white to slice through his tender body and drag him underwater forever. However, the only thing that ended up meeting him, was silence.

Marshall peeked one eye open from beneath his paws. He was still here, and nothing had happened. He then opened his eyes completely as he stood up and looked around. The shark was nowhere to be seen. Marshall made an extremely puzzled look. Sure he was glad that it was gone, but it didn't make any sense. Then the question arose; was there even a shark there in the first place?

"Great, now I'm starting to see things," Marshall assumed. "I just can't catch a break," he sighed as he lied back down on his belly.

Drinking all that dirty salt water was really starting to have its effects on the poor firefighting pup. The dehydration aspect was now making him hallucinate and there were no signs of it getting better. Plus, the psychological effect of being all alone at sea definitely wasn't helping and was just acting as a catalyst to his already crippling anxiety.

With little to no faith left, Marshall officially gave up hope. He was going to float around on the ocean until his heart could no longer beat, whether that be in days, weeks, or even tomorrow. Slowly and silently, the dalmatian pup cried himself to sleep.

* * *

"Well, that was the last building," Zuma sighed in a defeated tone.

The crew all looked at each other with exhaustion and disappointment. After initially searching the bay no avail, they went around town to every building and searched through the wreckage, leaving no stone unturned. Unfortunately, the team had not achieved their goal; not even one of the pups had been found. They hadn't even picked up a trace. It was extremely discouraging.

On the bright side, however, a lot of the debris was cleared from the streets thanks to Rubble. He was only trying to find the pups, and it wasn't necessarily his intention to clean the streets, but it all worked out in the end.

"They have to be here somewhere!" Ryder desperately declared, "Come on! Let's keep going, maybe we missed something!"

"Ryder dude, it's getting late," Jake warned as he looked towards the sunset in the distance, "We'll come out again tomorrow, it's dangerous to look out here in the dark."

Ryder looked at him almost in tears, "But they're still out there!"

Katie quickly went up to Ryder and wrapped her arms around him for some comfort. Ryder stopped talking as the tears started rolling down his cheeks while he embraced Katie's hug.

"I know it's hard Ryder," consoled Katie, "I would look for the pups day and night if I could, but Jake's right. We don't want to lose another pup or even one of us while searching in the dark."

They broke the hug and Ryder took a deep breath and sighed. "No, you're right," the boy sniffed, "Sorry. I'm just so desperate for them to be okay."

Rubble, Everest and Zuma jogged up to him and nuzzled Ryder's legs. He bent down slightly and stroked their backs.

"It's okay Ryder, so are we," the husky added, receiving nods from Zuma and Rubble.

"Alright guys, let's call it a day then. We have no choice," Ryder determined.

"Want us stay at your place?" Katie offered Ryder, "I think we'll all feel a little better if we're together."

"Yeah, and if we're all together, tomorrow morning we can commence our search right away!" proposed Jake.

Ryder looked at his pups for their opinion.

"I think it's a good idea Ryder," voiced Rubble.

"Me too. I'll feel a lot safer," agreed Zuma.

"Looks like we all agree," Ryder half-smiled, "On we go then."

Throughout the whole day Ryder had been kind of quiet. When he did talk, it was only small phrases or sentences about five words long; of course with a few exceptions every now and then. The usual uplifting tone of his was gone. It was very uncharacteristic of him, but he couldn't be blamed. All that could be said was that it was very, very depressing.

About ten minutes later, the gang entered the Lookout as night began to fall on their quiet and nearly dead town. They walked through the kitchen and reached lounge where they all sat down and finally caught a break. Nobody really wanted to talk though, the mood was too sad. The only noise was the occasional sniffle or whimper from one of the pups. After a few moments it was clear that people just wanted to sleep.

"You pups sleeping in here?" Ryder assumed.

"Yeah," all three pups said in unison.

"Alright, let's go upstairs," he waved Katie and Jake on, "There's a pullout couch in my room and we also have a guest room."

The two nodded and followed him into the elevator.

Meanwhile, Everest instantly went to Marshall's red beanbag. She hopped on and buried her face into it as tears streamed from her sapphire eyes. Everything that happened in the last two days was now really hitting her hard and she didn't know how to handle it. Losing four of her friends was just too much, especially regarding Marshall.

Zuma and Rubble both laid down on their bean bags and let some tears flow as well, just not as much as their husky friend. With no use in thinking about the situation, the chocolate lab and english bulldog eventually fell asleep. Everest still laid there sobbing for a while but it eventually drained her out, causing her to close her tear-stained eyes and fall asleep as well.

Upstairs Ryder lead Jake to the guest room where he settled in and went straight to sleep. Looking around Adventure Bay all day and lifting up heavy pieces of debris really took a toll on him. Across the hall, Ryder set up Katie's bed for the night. The exhaustion and emotional pain resulted in a lack of conversation, but eventually as the two got in their beds and Ryder shut off the lights, Katie broke the silence.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" inquired Katie. "I mean, we searched all of Adventure Bay today, what's next?"

"Well, we could check around Foggy Bottom. I'm sure Mayor Humdinger would help us out," Ryder's tone became a little hopeful. "And then there's the fields and counties out past Adventure Bay. Who knows, the tsunami could've sent them anywhere."

"Yeah I guess," Katie responded, "But, I guess what I'm trying to get at is, what if all else fails?"

"What do you mean?" Ryder asked as his tone went back down.

"If we've searched everywhere… and haven't found anything, we can't continue on searching forever, right?," Katie stammered as a lump formed in her throat. "Do we just have to accept that the pups are… well, you know.. gone?" she forced herself to say through some mild tears.

There was a long and silent pause. It was a deep question, and very scary to think about considering it was very possible at this point. Ryder wasn't sure he'd ever be able to accept that fact, whether it happened or not. He wanted them to be alive so badly; he had so much hope. But that was meaningless.

"R-Ryder?" Katie stuttered.

"I... k-know there is only so much we can do…" Ryder sniffed, "But whether it's with you guys or just myself, I will never stop looking for my pups until I know… until I know if they're d-dead or alive."

And that's all that was said for the rest of the night. Ryder and Katie slept their sorrows away for the night; until they would have to wake up and go through it all again tomorrow.

* * *

 **Definitely a few eyebrows raised regarding Valak's behaviour. Is Antichrist a real being within the forest? Meanwhile, things aren't looking too bright for poor old Marshall; completely stranded with nothing but his thoughts, which are most likely not happy ones. How will everyone recover. _Will_ they recover? Only time will tell...**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Personally I don't think it was my best, but every story has its dull and exciting chapters. I'll be back A.S.A.P with the next chapter. Hopefully that's not too long, heh. Bye for now!**

 **~SwarmX**


	10. Miracle

**A/N: Ugghhhh sorry guys, it's been another month. That isn't really what bugged me though, as it's become routine. I tried uploading on Christmas as kinda like my present to you guys for supporting this story, but the Doc Manager was having issues. Every time I would try to upload a document a processing error would occur no matter what I did. I was reading through forums and found I wasn't the only one experiencing this. I emailed FanFiction and luckily it is back up and running today. During this downtime, however, I was able to further progress with this story, so hopefully you guys can expect an update sooner than usual, if all goes well ;) Anyway, that's enough of me rambling on for this chapter. I hope you enjoy chapter 10 of _Terror's Peak_!**

* * *

Marshall awoke to a loud chopping noise. Confused and disoriented, he tried looking around but it was still extremely dark outside. The only thing he could remotely see, was the faint shimmering of moonlight along the surface of the water. Marshall turned around completely to try and identify the source of the sound but instead found more light shimmering on the surface of the water.

"What? Two moons?" he shook his head in disbelief. "I must be hallucinating again."

The dally then looked up to see a bright, moving light. It couldn't have been the moon, this light was much less white and more beige. The closer it got, the louder the chopping noise grew.

Marshall stared in amazement and shock. _Could it actually be?_ He questioned. _It has to be!_

The miracle that he was so desperately hoping for had arrived. The miracle that he deemed impossible, thinking it could never actually happen. There it was in the middle of the ocean.

Passing directly over Marshall in the middle of the ocean, there was a rescue helicopter.

Adrenaline suddenly filled the veins of the dalmatian pup as he frantically tried to get the aircraft's attention.

"HELP!" he howled through his dry and scratchy throat, "I'M DOWN HERE!"

Marshall waved his hands in the air, splashed around the water, and even jumped up and down on his wooden board; almost falling off a few times. He continued to howl at the top of his lungs, not even caring whether his voice would give out or not. If Marshall let this chance float by, he knew that there wasn't going to be another. He was almost driven to tears after there was no sign of acknowledgement for about thirty seconds. However, not too long after, Marshall finally got that response he driving for.

" _DON'T WORRY, HELP IS ON IT'S WAY"_ the loudspeaker projected as the helicopter slowly began descending onto the water.

Marshall couldn't believe it. The poor pup collapsed and let the tears flow from his eyes. He was a goner; completely stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food or drink. There was no way he should have survived in these circumstances, but it was happening.

As the chopper safely landed on the water, Marshall stood back up on his paws. The strong wind blew through his fur and completely dried his tears. When the propellers finally came to a stop, a man opened the door and stepped out onto one of the landing skids.

"Hey buddy! This is the Foggy Bottom Coast Guard Service. are you okay?" he called out.

"I-I think so.." Marshall replied in a rough, scratchy voice.

"Alright! I'm going to throw you this life preserver. Grab on and I'll pull you over to the chopper," he instructed, "From there I'll take you back to the mainland where you'll be checked up!"

"Okay!" replied Marshall.

The life preserver plopped into the water about a yard away from him, however, the dalmatian hesitated. The water now frightened him. Never had he thought it could be so dangerous and devastating; not until the tsunami tore apart his home and nearly took his own his life. But he had no choice, he had to get back to Adventure Bay.

With that, Marshall took a deep breath, closed his eyes and leaped for the life preserver. He grasped the ring with his two front legs while the bottom half of his body plunged into the frigid water. The coast guard then pulled Marshall in and before he knew it, the man had placed him safely into the helicopter.

"Oh man, you don't look so good," the coast guard pitied the suffering pup.

It was true. Marshall was noticeably skinnier, and his complexion was rather pale, yet burnt. Not to mention his voice was pretty raspy when trying to communicate with the coast guard earlier.

"Would you like a drink?" the man offered.

Marshall's eyes widened and he instantly nodded.

The man retrieved a water bottle from one of the helicopter compartments and opened it up for Marshall. The dally ended up gulping down the entire bottle with more room to spare. They went through a few more water bottles before Marshall decided that his thirst had been replenished. However, it still didn't help with his hunger.

"D-do you maybe have s-some type of f-food?" Marshall inquired.

"Well, luckily I do keep a few dog biscuits with at all times. I have a rottweiler pup of my own back home. They're all yours," the man smiled.

He picked up two biscuits out of his pocket and held them out to Marshall who gulped them down. However, the dally's stomach still growled.

"Sorry buddy, that's all I got," he apologized, "But don't worry, I'm taking you straight to Foggy Bottom Hospital where they'll feed you and take care of you."

Marshall looked up at the coast guard and smiled. He was so comforting and generous towards the pup, and the dalmatian was ever so grateful.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Marshall thanked him subtly.

"No problem little guy, it's my pleasure," the man smiled back, petting him on the head.

After giving Marshall a blanket to warm himself up, along with a pair of earmuffs to protect his ears from the helicopter's racket, the coast guard started up the helicopter and headed straight to Foggy Bottom. Marshall somewhat dozed off during the ride there. He was absolutely exhausted, but the noise of the helicopter made it difficult to sleep. So instead he sat there, eyes half open, and occasionally bobbing his head up and down every time his body tried to force him asleep.

In no time, Marshall felt the chopper come to a halt and the loud noise of the propellers ceased. They had just landed on top of Foggy Bottom Hospital. Almost instantly, paramedics came up and placed him onto stretcher. After which, he was hauled down an elevator, through a few halls, and into a hospital room.

The dally was still quite tired, but managed to keep his eyes open during this process. It was so busy in the hospital, and actually quite frightening. Across the halls he heard moans and groans of the tsunami victims, while elsewhere he heard the cries of citizens who had lost a loved one. It made him extremely sad, and was just as scarring as the tsunami itself. The fire pup shut his eyes and covered his ears. All he could think about was Ryder, Zuma and Rubble being in the same state as those poor people, and how devastating it must have been for them during the past couple days. He tried his best to disregard the thought; it genuinely drove him to tears.

Shortly after, a nurse walked over to Marshall, gently picked him up off of the stretcher, and placed him under the covers of a hospital bed where she gently stroked his fur. It was really calming and settled him down a lot.

"There, there, it's going to be alright," the nurse comforted. "Would you like some food? You look famished."

Marshall vigorously nodded his head; food was the number one thing he wanted at the moment, besides Ryder and the pups however.

"Alright honey, just give me one second," the kind nurse said as she left the room.

Moments later, she returned with a whole bag of liver treats and a large bowl of water. Marshall displayed a huge grin as he began to lick his lips. After a whole twenty-four hours with no food, this was like heaven to him. He thanked the nurse and showed his gratitude by giving her many puppy licks, followed by gulping down the food and water he was given.

Marshall must have eaten two pounds of liver treats before he finally decided he'd had enough. There was no doubt he had regained the weight lost. As the nurse was about to take the treats and water bowl back to the hospital's cafeteria, Marshall spoke up.

"Um, e-excuse me," Marshall coughed, "Will I be able to see my family again?"

"Get some rest dear, you've been through a lot in the past two days and it's late," she advised, "Tomorrow morning our rescue team will try our best to contact your family."

Marshall smiled back at her. "Thank you, I appreciate everything you've done," he replied as he shut his eyes to go to sleep.

Finally, the dalmatian was able to rest peacefully, without the unnerving thought inside his head that he may never wake up. Through his weeping and whimpering, the dalmatian said a silent prayer. After everything he'd been through, he was going to be okay.

It was a miracle.

* * *

Katie awoke with a loud yawn and a stretch. As the extremely exhausted girl turned to her side, she noticed something peculiar. After blinking a few times and squinting, she realized that Ryder wasn't in his bed. This got her on her feet right away, tired or not. Given the extreme situation they're in, she didn't want to lose sight of Ryder at any time. Seeing as the boy wasn't in their room, Katie walked across the hall to where Jake had spent the night. There, Jake was sitting up in his bed in a daze. He'd just woken up as well.

"Jake!" exclaimed Katie, "Have you seen Ryder?"

Jake shook his head and looked up at the girl. Still half asleep, he hardly managed to spit anything out, "Huh..?"

"Hurry! Get up and come downstairs with me to look for him!" she demanded.

"Yeah.. one sec," Jake yawned as he stood up.

Katie darted into the elevator where she waited for Jake, who arrived not too long after. As the elevator descended and slowly came to a stop, there they saw Ryder in the kitchen safe and sound. The pups were there too, all lying down next to their bowls with glum faces. Katie was just relieved that everyone was okay, especially Ryder.

"Oh thank goodness!" she smiled at the boy, "I didn't know where you were."

"Oh, sorry about that," Ryder apologized, "I just wanted to get an early start so we can begin searching as soon as possible."

"Smart thinking," complemented Jake.

"Anyway, I'm going to head to Foggy Bottom after breakfast," Ryder continued, "Anyone who wants to join me is welcome, but I'd prefer if at least some of you stay here and look. You never know if someone might find their way back home. Plus, a lot of Adventure Bay still needs to be cleaned and fixed up."

"I'll come to Foggy Bottom," volunteered Katie.

"I'll go with you too, Ryder," Zuma offered.

"Alright, sounds good," the boy responded.

"I think I'll stay here Ryder, my bulldozer will come in handy with the clean up," Rubble declared.

"Good choice Rubble," encouraged Ryder, "Jake? Everest?"

"We'll stay here and keep Rubble company," replied Jake, "Is that okay with you Ev?"

"Yeah sure," Everest nodded.

"Well, looks we have our game plan," settled Ryder, "But I just want to make one rule; If anyone makes any discoveries, no matter how devastating they may be, they are to inform the team through cell phone or pup tag immediately. I know it will be hard depending on the circumstances, but we need to find out as soon as possible."

The whole crew nodded in agreement and then began chomping down their breakfast. All of them spent so much time searching yesterday that they went to sleep almost on an empty stomach. This made their appetites fairly big for this morning.

Shortly after, the two groups parted ways. Jake, Everest, and Rubble drove down to the city where the construction pup continued bulldozing debris out of the way and into piles, while Jake and Everest kept their eye open for the pups. Meanwhile, Ryder and Katie hopped in their ATVs, Zuma onto his hovercraft, and the three headed down to Foggy Bottom. They didn't really know exactly what they were going to do when they got there, but in an attempt to find the pups, they were ready to face anything. No job is to big, no pup is too small.

About twenty minutes later, they had arrived at Foggy Bottom. The crew noticed some damage as they cruised down some of the streets, but it was miniscule compared to the destruction down at Adventure Bay. After driving for a few more minutes through the town, Ryder spotted someone he thought could help them out.

"Mayor Humdinger!" shouted Ryder.

The plump Mayor along with his bushy moustache turned around and greeted the boy back with great politeness, which wasn't exactly expected. On any other occasion, the Mayor of Foggy Bottom would have rolled his eyes or sneered at the sight of Ryder, or any of the Paw Patrol for that matter, but now was not a time for that. He knew Ryder's situation, and all he could do was offer his evermost love and support.

"Hey guys," he greeted. "I am so sorry about what happened, believe me I am. From the bottom of my heart," he sympathized as he gave Ryder and Katie a hug, also petting Zuma on the head.

"Thanks Mayor, we really appreciate it," Ryder embraced his comfort with a little sadness.

"When Mayor Goodway called me up and shared the bad news, I instantly set out a search party for the pups, as well as other victims," informed Humdinger, "I even sent out the catastrophe crew to go out and look for the pups."

"Gee, thanks Mayor. That really means a lot," Ryder smiled at him.

"In fact, that's why we came here, to look for the pups," Katie added, "Would you happen to have an idea as to where to look?"

"Well, any victims that the search party finds go straight to the hospital. Just outside the front door there's supposed to be two lists. One, I think, with victims who survived and are being taken care of, and one with victims that.. well, y'know… weren't as lucky. I think they're updated every hour or so..." he explained in a depressed tone.

"Thanks Mayor, you're an absolute gem!" Ryder said as he gratefully shook his hand, "I will repay you some day for this, I promise!"

"Oh don't worry about it," Humdinger placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Go focus on what's more important, find your pups."

The three nodded and headed for Foggy Bottom Hospital, practically speeding down every street. They had to know whether any of their pups were alive, and wanted to know as soon as possible.

A mere and dreadful five minutes later, the gang had reached the hospital parking lot which was nearly at max capacity. However, all they wanted to see were the two lists. After squeezing into a few tight spaces by the front entrance, Ryder was about to go up to the lists to get a closer look, but he hesitated.

"What's wrong Ryder?" Zuma looked up at him with a sad expression.

"I… I just don't think I'll be able to handle going up there and seeing Chase, Marshall, Skye, or Rocky's name on the deceased list," he sniffed.

Katie put her hand on Ryder's shoulder.

"We'll have to find out sooner or later, as hard as it'll be," she said in a comforting tone, "If that is in fact the case, we'll all be here for each other."

Ryder looked up at Katie who then patted his back. Ryder nodded and continued onward to the list. Katie and Zuma followed somewhat, but left space for each other in case the dreaded bad news were to arrive. They watched with anticipation and anxiety as Ryder ran his finger down the list, carefully analyzing each of the names. However, there was no reaction once he reached the end, which made Zuma and Katie's heart drop.

After going through about ten names on the next list, Ryder stopped and covered his mouth. The next thing Zuma and Katie knew, the boy was down on his knees, bawling his eyes out. Katie went pale and she, too, covered her mouth in utter disbelief. Zuma watched in horror as well, as he covered his eyes with his paws and began whimpering uncontrollably, assuming he had just lost a best friend. Ryder's display of sadness quite clearly portrayed that bad news was to come, and they knew exactly what the news was.

Step by step, Katie slowly began to approach Ryder. She could not believe this was the case. Just _thinking_ of one of the pup's being dead broke her heart, but that actually being the case was unreal. Upon peeking through his paws, Zuma noticed Katie had headed towards Ryder's direction. He, too, decided to go over there along with his tear-stained face. He needed to see it for himself.

When the two of them got close enough, Ryder shot up and turned towards them. Looking at them with his red, tear-filled eyes, he simply let out two words:

"Marshall's alive!"

* * *

 **With almost all hope lost, somebody came to Marshall's rescue, and the dally couldn't be happier. The same can be said for the gang back at the Lookout. As great as things sound, they're far from better. Three pups are still missing without a trace and are facing huge obstacles on their journey home. Luck won't be on their side forever, and if they don't find a way out, or even each other for that matter, pretty soon they could end up six feet under...**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Chapter 11 coming ASAP :)**

 _ **Side note**_ ** _:_ I kind of got interested in digital art so I downloaded Krita. I tried my best and attempted to make a cute picture of Chase and Skye XD It turned out okay... I guess that's for you to decide XD If you want to see it, it's with my uploaded images. Otherwise, I posted it on Deviant Art. Anyway, just figured I'd pop this little plug in here, LMAO. Thanks again for all the support!**

 **~SwarmX**


	11. Acceptance

**A/N: Yes, I know what you're thinking, "What? SwarmX didn't wait another month to upload?" IS THIS REAL LIFE?!" Well I can assure you that it is! I am indeed updating again and it's only been about a week. I figured I'd upload because it's my birthday tomorrow, something I would consider a special occasion ;) Anyways, the story is shaping up well and I've gotten a lot done, hopefully I'll be able to update again soon! For now, I hope you enjoy chapter 11 of Terror's Peak!**

* * *

"Let's check over here," Everest called Rubble and Jake over.

There was a massive pile of wood right in front of the husky, another huge mess caused by the wave. It looked to be the remains of a large shed or maybe even small cabin. Once the two caught up to the snow pup, Rubble began clearing the mess with his bulldozer while Jake and Everest kept their eyes open for any sign of life within the debris. As the bulldog moved some wood and came back for another load, they were all interrupted by a familiar sound.

 _BLIP BLIP_

All three of them looked at each other right as the ringtone went off, showing no emotion whatsoever. Jake hesitated before reaching for his phone. They all remembered the one rule Ryder enforced back at the Lookout.

" _If anyone makes any discoveries, no matter how devastating they may be, they are to inform the team through cell phone or pup tag immediately."_

They knew what was about to come. Ryder and the others had found someone, either dead or alive. None of them wanted to take the risk of answering, for they couldn't bare to hear the news if one of their friends had passed. And the fact that it had been almost two days since the tsunami hit, they didn't have much hope that good news was to come.

 _BLIP BLIP_

Jake looked to the pups once again, they were going to have to answer it eventually. Just as they were going to have to accept the death of their friends eventually, if that be the case. Whether they found out now or in a week, it would make no difference. After Rubble and Everest gave two anxious nods to Jake, motioning him to answer the call, he finally picked up.

"H-hello?" Jake stammered.

Ryder didn't even bother greeting him, but instead repeated the two words he told Zuma and Katie only moments ago. It was enough to make Jake drop his phone and let out a gasp.

"What's wrong Jake?" Everest cried, preparing for the worst.

Instead of replying, Jake ran to his vehicle and started it up. His eyes were getting noticeably teary as well.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Rubble asked concerningly.

Jake put on his helmet and turned towards the two pups, "Pups, we're going to Foggy Bottom Hospital. Right now," he instructed,

"Marshall's alive."

Rubble paused for a few moments as he processed the words that Jake just shared, staring at him in awe. Once it hit him that this was reality, the precious bulldog's face lit up.

"Marshall's okay!" he cheered as a tear rolled down his cheek, "He's okay! I knew he'd be okay!"

Everest, on the other hand, collapsed onto the ground and started bawling her eyes out. All the stress and pain she went through while trying to accept that the pup of her life may no longer be with her, it was all gone. Marshall was alive. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time, she couldn't be happier.

Jake quickly came over and scooped her up into his arms, startling her for a moment. But she quickly began to sob into his chest as the waterworks continued to flow. He stroked the husky's fur and embraced this special moment all three of them were now experiencing. Through all of the pain and sorrow that they went through for the past two days, something was finally able to put a smile on their faces.

Once Everest was able to somewhat compose herself, she looked Jake in the eyes and smiled, "Let's go! I wanna see him now!"

"Yeah! Let's go see Marshall!" Rubble exclaimed, his tail wagging vigorously.

"You pups took the words right out of my mouth," Jake grinned.

The trio got into their respective vehicles and departed Adventure Bay with haste, wanting to reach Foggy Bottom Hospital as quickly as possible. Marshall was alive; it almost seemed too good to be true. That's all they cared about at the moment. They just wanted to see their good ol' clumsy dalmatian friend alive and well.

 **LINE(In Hospital)**

Ryder burst through the front entrance of the hospital as he shoved his pup pad back in his pocket. Katie and Zuma weren't far behind. When the boy reached the reception desk he was out of breath and quite clearly in a frazzle.

"Hello Sir," greeted the receptionist, "How may I help you?"

"Is there a Marshall here? We lost him in the tsunami with all our other pups and have been looking for him for ages to no avail and he was on the list outside and-"

"Woah, woah, calm down buddy, it's going to be okay," she interrupted, "Just take a few deep breaths for me, okay?"

Ryder's emotions were taking over his brain. The devastation and everything he went through just caused him to speak without thinking, and become a lot more hyper. Luckily, he was able to realize that and calmed down, taking the deep breaths that the receptionist recommended. Now that he was composed, he continued on talking. By now, Katie and Zuma had caught up to him and were anxiously standing behind the boy.

"Sorry," he apologized, "It's just… everything that's happened the past few days.. I've just become really desperate, you know?"

"I understand sweetheart," comforted the receptionist, "Now, who is it that you're looking for?"

"Marshall," answered Ryder, "He's a dalmatian pup, and works as a fire pup and medic for the Paw Patrol in Adventure Bay."

"Oh, the Paw Patrol! I've heard of you guys!" recognized the nurse as she searched through her computer. "Ah yes, here he is. Marshall's in Room 220, on the second floor."

Ryder sighed of relief as he closed his eyes and quickly said a silent prayer, "Oh thank you so much! Can we go up and see him?"

"If you could just sit in the waiting area, I will call you guys up when a nurse is available to escort you up there," the receptionist smiled at them.

"Thank you so much," thanked Ryder.

"My pleasure."

The boy turned and motioned Katie and Zuma to go sit. Ryder and Katie held hands as they sat down, while Zuma sat on Ryder's lap, snuggled into the boy's chest. Time started to pass ever so slowly. The next five minutes felt like two hours. They were all so desperate and anxious to see Marshall that it was killing them. However, a few seconds later, the receptionist finally called out their name.

Upon looking up, they saw the nurse standing by the hall and approached her right away. She smiled politely at the trio and introduced herself.

"Hello, my name's Jen," she greeted, "I'll be taking you up to Room 220. If you could just follow me, we'll be there in a jiffy!"

The crew nodded and walked behind her down a long hall and into an elevator. Along the way they could hear moans of pain and cries of distress, just as Marshall did when he first arrived; it was just as unsettling. Luckily, It wasn't too long before they escaped that realm and entered the elevator. In the meantime, Zuma asked a question that was on the minds of everyone.

"Do you know if Marshall's okay? Like, can he still walk and talk. Is he hurt?" Zuma nervously asked, a little bit afraid to hear the truth.

"Marshall's doing great!" exclaimed the nurse, "The only deficiencies were slight malnourishment and dehydration, but both of those have been treated for and he looks to be recovering well!"

This was music to their ears. It really gave them a sense of hope that maybe even the other pups were alive, but just still lost out there. However, it didn't do them complete justice yet. In fact, no words did. They had to see Marshall in person and embrace the fragile pup in order to truly feel that sense of relief that they needed so badly.

Shortly after the elevator reached the second floor, the gang had finally reached Marshall's room.

As Jen opened the door, she cheerfully called over to Marshall, "Oh Marshall! You have some visitors!"

As Ryder, Katie, and Zuma entered the room, they all looked up towards the hospital bed. At the same time, a figure that was sat under the covers and faced in the opposite direction, stood up and turned around towards the three of them.

"Ryder!" Marshall managed to exclaim, despite his scratchy voice.

Rather than answering the pup, the trio ran over to Marshall while tears spilled out of their eyes. Zuma hopped onto the bed and wrapped all four of his limbs around Marshall, pulling him into the tightest hug of his life. Marshall embraced the chocolate lab as Ryder and Katie jumped in, picking both of them up and forming a group hug. Words could not describe how happy they all were in this moment. Marshall thought he would never see his family again. Likewise, Ryder, Katie and Zuma thought Marshall was gone for good, along with the other pups. But here they all were together, safe and sound in a hospital room holding each other as close as possible. For just a moment, they were finally able to forget about all their worries, and enjoy euphoric reunion.

Still in each other's arms, they all looked up at one another.

"I thought I'd never see you again," the dalmatian sniffed.

The crew then pulled him into a hug again. "N-neither did we," Ryder choked as he continued to let tears pour down his cheeks.

"We were terrified dude," Zuma whimpered, "The tsunami looked so scary from the Lookout."

"You're telling me," Marshall chuckled. The comic relief somewhat compensated for the tears being shed. The other's giggled at this too as they all broke apart from each other. Marshall and Zuma sat back down on the bed while Katie and Ryder stood at their side.

"We're so glad you're okay," praised Katie, whose face was painted with dry tears, "It looked impossible to survive such a disaster."

"Katie's right," voiced Ryder, "It must have been a miracle. How did you manage to survive?"

Marshall's face when dry of emotion. Thinking back to the event gave him cold chills. Ryder quickly realized it was probably too soon for a question like that.

"Actually, don't answer that Marshall, I'm sorry. It's too soon," the boy apologized.

"No, no, Ryder, it's okay," insisted Marshall, "I.. I just don't know where to start…"

"It's okay dude, take your time," comforted Zuma, "We're listening."

"Well... we were at the beach, having fun.. running around, when we got real thirsty," Marshall recalled with fear and sadness, "Chase went to go get us water... and that's when things went wrong..."

The others got the cold chills too while listening to Marshall. His horrific experience allowed him to tell the tragic story with unnerving suspense and fear. His explanation was so vivid, it felt like they were there with him.

"All the water in the bay disappeared," he continued, looking up at them in disbelief, "I've never seen anything like it. We could've walked all the way to the bridge!"

"Whoa, really dude?" Zuma's jaw dropped in awe.

"Mhmm," Marshall nodded, "After that, Chase came back and… well…"

Marshall's pause caused Ryder to be a little concerned. He was worried that retelling and reliving the whole experience would be too much for Marshall. However, before he could interrupt, the dalmatian burst into tears.

"He saved me!" Marshall cried as he covered his eyes with his paws, "He's the only reason we had a chance to survive! And the last thing I did was argue with him!"

Ryder quickly walked over and placed his hand on the pup's back, slightly surprised at his sudden outburst. "Whoa Marshall, easy," Ryder comforted while stroking his fur, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Chase," answered Marshall, " _He's_ the one who saved us. While all of us panicked, _he_ instructed us on what to do. _He_ got us up onto Mr. Porter's and out of harm's way... but he couldn't save himself. The wave took him, and we all watched helplessly."

As the words left Marshall's mouth, Ryder's heart sank and a lump formed in his throat. " _The wave took him,"_ repeated in the boy's head multiple times. He was in disbelief, and couldn't come to terms with what Marshall just said. Chase, who was Ryder's first pup and now second in command of the Paw Patrol, was now dead according to Marshall, who witnessed everything. The shepherd was his best friend, and now he was presumably gone forever.

However, Ryder managed to hold back his emotions. The boy could see Marshall's grief over the incident; he could relate. He was feeling the exact same thing right now. He continued rubbing Marshall's back as his eyes began to feel watery too.

"Mr. Porter's restaurant ended up collapsing anyway," Marshall continued, "I started floating out to sea, and the others were nowhere to be seen; they went straight under the water. But still, he tried so hard to save us. And just before that happened, I... I was furious with him. It was over such a stupid argument too. I wish I could take it back."

All of a sudden, without any warning, the door to Marshall's hospital room burst open. After an initial scare, Katie, Ryder, Zuma, and Marshall all focused their tear-filled eyes in that direction. In came Jake, Rubble, and Everest.

"MARSHALL!" cried Everest.

Marshall's heart melted at the sight of his beloved husky pup running toward him in tears. Another pup that Marshall thought he'd never see again was here right before his very eyes. This time it was his mate; the love of his life. The dalmatian completely forgot about the depressing discussion they were just having and stood up with open arms, ready to embrace Everest's love and comfort. Upon impact, the husky flung Marshall onto his back as she squeezed him almost to the point of suffocation. This went unnoticed as Marshall returned the hug just as tight and nuzzled the side of her head.

"I.. I missed you s-so much," Everest sniffed as she let out more tears.

"I know," Marshall said, shedding a few tears as well, "I missed you too."

Seconds later, Rubble had hopped onto the bed and began covering Marshall with puppy licks. Jake, too, ran over to the bed and gave Marshall a hug, stroking his soft spotted fur. It all eventually converged into a group hug.

Everybody was so overwhelmed with emotions that they all were driven to tears. Earlier this morning, everyone at the lookout was drowning in sadness, grief and pain over the loss of their friends. Only an hour later, here they all were at Foggy Bottom Hospital reunited with one of them; a reality none of them thought would have ever been possible. This made the moment even more special.

The silence lasted even after the huge group hug broke apart, and it was very powerful. The look on everyone's faces showed it. Still, nobody could believe what had happened, yet it didn't matter. They were all just so happy to be together.

"So, can I come home now!" Marshall finally broke the silence.

"Not quite yet dear," Jen answered from the other side of the room. This caused everyone to jump. They all were so caught up in the moment, they'd completely forgotten the nurse was even there.

"Oh Jen! We forgot you were over there," chuckled Ryder, "So, when can Marshall come home?"

"Well, I just have to run a few more scans and checkups to make sure he's at least close to one-hundred percent," explained Jen, "But if all goes well, he should be able to leave the hospital this afternoon!"

They all smiled at each other upon hearing the good news. Marshall attempted to let out a howl but ended up choking on the dryness in his throat, earning laughs from all.

"I'm glad to see all of you in good moods again," added the nurse, "Anyway, I should be able to start with Marshall soon. I'll give you a little bit to wrap up your reunion." She smiled at them and walked out of the room.

"Well gang, the quicker we let Jen do her job, the quicker we can take Marshall back to the Lookout," Jake proclaimed, "I say we go down to the lobby, maybe grab a bite to eat, and wait for Marshall's examination to finish."

"Yeah!" agreed Marshall, "I want to get out of here as soon as possible!"

Everyone seemed to be satisfied with that, especially Rubble, whose stomach growled at the suggestion. With a chuckle, all of them headed out of the dally's room. However, one of them stayed behind.

Just as Katie was about to shut the door behind her, she saw Ryder still standing at the bed. Their eyes met simultaneously. He gave a thumbs up and nodded, gesturing for her to continue and that he was alright, so she did. Marshall tilted his head, wondering why Ryder stayed back.

"What's the matter Ryder?" Marshall asked now that they were alone.

Ryder stared at the dalmatian for a short moment, thinking of how grateful he was to be able to see his pup alive and well in that bed. He slowly walked over, his eyes red and face filled with dry tears. The boy bent down and kissed him on the forehead, as fresh tears once again began to fill his eyes. He stood back up and looked at Marshall's beautiful eyes, embracing the special reunion they were having.

Marshall's eyes went glossy during this moment as well. "I'm so glad you're all okay," he exchanged smiles with Ryder, letting a tear roll down his cheek. However, his mood changed in an instant as he thought about the situation.

"Did you guys find the others?" he asked, referring to Chase, Rocky, and Skye.

The boy swallowed hard and looked down at his pup as tears continued flowing. He tried to think of a somewhat hopeful answer. Marshall just looked up at his owner, staring at him with the most desolate expression ever.

"N-no…" he stuttered, "But we're still looking! People in Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom are clearing up the debris as we speak, and-"

Marshall gently shook his head.

"Ryder… you won't find them…" he sniffed,

"They're gone."

That was it. That put the seal on doubt. Nothing else needed to be said, and nothing was. Ryder looked at Marshall with his tear-stained eyes and then closed them, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement. He had accepted it now; any last remaining hope Ryder had was officially gone. The two formed an inseparable hug as they cried in each other's arms. The reality had now set in, they were never going to see Chase, Skye, or Rocky, ever again.

 **X**

It was dusk, and the sky was filled with a stunning shade of pink and orange. The gang was finally returning from the hospital after a long, emotional day. Marshall sat in Everest's snowmobile, while everyone else drove their respective vehicles back to the Lookout. As they crossed the bridge, they got a fantastic view of the bay. The water sparkled as it reflected the beautiful colours of the evening sky.

However, most of them couldn't admire it. How could they? As pretty as the scene was, it was the ocean that ripped apart their family. It was the ocean that presumably killed three of the pups. It was the ocean that ruined their lives. And this was all they could think about upon its sight.

After parking outside their home, Ryder and the pups headed inside, including Katie, Jake, and Everest. Katie didn't have a choice. Her salon, where she lived most of her life, was completely flattened, leaving her no where to stay but the Lookout. Jake and Everest simply stayed for comfort and assistance. It was also really helpful for all of them to be with their friends at a time like this. All though it was practically miniscule, it did create a little bit of joy between them.

Ryder walked into the lounge and plopped onto the couch, trying to stay composed. Those cold, devastating words back at the hospital, " _They're gone,"_ were engraved inside his head. Both him and Marshall hadn't told the others about their conversation earlier, but Ryder knew he was going to have to inform everybody. They were all going to have to accept the truth. No matter how much it hurt, it couldn't be avoided. This was now the beginning of the rest of their lives.

Casually, the pups filled the room along with Katie and Jake. After everyone had sat down and relaxed for a while, Ryder finally got the courage to tell everyone the bad news. The boy took a deep breath while making his way to the front of the room as all eyes gazed upon him. He looked up and began speaking.

"Well…" he paused, "Seeing as we're all together at the moment, I figured I should break this to you now."

These words sent mixed reactions among the crowd. Some were worried due to Ryder's choice of words, yet some were anxious, hoping there might be good news to come. Marshall, on the other hand, knew exactly where Ryder was going with this. The dalmatian simply laid down and buried his face into his arms as the others waited in anticipation.

"N-now... I know I said that we would not stop looking for the pups at least until we found… _some_ type of evidence," he stammered, "But… after further.. uh, analysis, I'm afraid I have to retract that statement."

"What do you mean, Ryder?" Rubble whimpered.

Ryder looked at the bulldog, and then all of them, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry guys, the search is over."

"But Ryder, they could still be out there!" Katie protested.

"Yeah Ryder, if Marshall made it out, then anything's possible!" Jake countered.

"No," Marshall interrupted as he stood up silently sobbing, "Ryder's right."

Everybody went quiet and stared at the dally, noticing his tears and sincerity. They all anxiously waited for him to explain.

"I was there. I saw everything," he sniffed, leaking a couple more tears, "I got lucky… the others didn't."

Then, just as coldy as when he told Ryder, he let out those two brief words and nodded.

"They're gone."

Not a word was said after that. Ryder and Marshall closed their eyes in dismay. For the others, it was a lot to take in at once. The first stage was utter shock and disbelief, just as the words left Marshall's mouth. The idea of living without a fraction of the Paw Patrol unreal. Then came the grief and sadness. The realization that they would never get to see those three pups ever again. It brought tears to every single one of their faces, as they flashed back to memories and good times they have had with the fallen pups.

Rocky, the smart and creative pup. He worked so hard and played a major part in developing some of the technology that the Paw Patrol uses today. He was determined but also aware of keeping a safe, clean environment. The mixed breed was just so caring, for both his job and his friends, making it even harder to accept the loss.

Then there was Skye; such a cheerful and optimistic pup. You could hardly put her in a bad mood, and at the same time, you could hardly be in a bad mood around her. She gracefully flew through the sky while on many missions, aweing anyone that watched. The little cockapoo was fantastic at her job, and loved her friends with all of her heart. She could always liven up a room with only her presence, something that everyone was going to miss very dearly.

And lastly, was Chase. The heart and soul of the team. A natural born leader. All of the pups looked up to him and felt safe by his side. More importantly, he cared about the pups and Ryder more than anything else. He risked his own life to save his friends when they were scared and helpless. Something he would be greatly honoured for, but at the same time, deeply missed.

This state of grief lasted for some time. In fact, a few hours later, nearly everybody had fallen asleep in the lounge, still without saying a word. Ryder was the lone soul that remained awake. His thought of the pups never seemed to go away nor settle. He knew this state of sadness wouldn't be gone by morning. He expected it to last weeks, or maybe even months. Overcoming the deaths of Chase, Rocky and Skye, was going to be the hardest task the Paw Patrol would ever have to face. In truth, Ryder didn't know that they'd ever overcome it.

* * *

 **What started out as a happy chapter suddenly became pretty depressing :( Life without three of the pups sure is going to be different, and even I don't think they're going to recover. But hey, if Marshall was somehow able to survive, you never know what could happen...**

 **Thanks for reading, as always!**

 **~SwarmX**


	12. Written in the Stars

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back again! Looks like my upload rate has been slightly improving, eh? Well, I don't wanna speak too soon, because we all know how drastically that can change XD. Besides, it's exam season right now, for me at least. So it may be a while before I get Chapter 13 out for you guys, so I apologize for that :/. However, I do have Chapter 12 here for you, and it's a good one! Take my word for it ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Ryder awoke to his blaring alarm clock with a loud yawn. It was 5:30 in the morning, two hours before they'd usually wake up. Unfortunately, they had no choice; cleaning up the entire city was turning out to be quite a lengthy process, so they had to get up very early if they wanted it to get done any time soon.

After sitting up straight on his bed, Ryder let out a very depressed and hopeless sigh. The boy was beginning to find it difficult to get up every morning. Not only was there not much motivation due to the loss of his pups, but he'd spend large portions of the night just lying in his bed, sobbing. The thought of his lost pups never left his mind, and he knew it was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Katie was still staying at Ryder's along with Jake and Everest. They all deemed it more efficient to stay at the Lookout so they could help as much as they could with all the damage in the city. Besides, Katie's salon was still in bits. As for the pups, none of them slept in their puphouses since the incident. The loneliness and fear of losing more loved ones preyed upon them like a lion chasing a zebra; so they all slept together on their bean bags in the lounge.

Their focus was no longer searching for the pups. The Paw Patrol, or what was left of it, was now going to be doing what they've done all their life; help Adventure Bay. They were determined to restore the beautiful city they once had, by cleaning debris, recreating old buildings and even designing new ones to be built. However, despite their aim being turned towards fixing up Adventure Bay, there was always that sliver of hope that under each piece of debris picked up, just maybe there would be a familiar pup lying there waiting to be rescued. Unfortunately, that was the only thing they could still do about their situation; honour that last shred of hope.

The gang followed their normal routine that they had for the past few days. After everybody was up, they ate a big breakfast and went out to help, not expecting to come back until dusk. That's how everything rolled now, and it would for some time until Adventure Bay was back to its old self.

"Morning Paw Patrol!" Mayor Goodway greeted as they all pulled up outside of City Hall; one of the only building not to be plowed over by the tsunami.

"Hi Mayor," Ryder half-smiled with a somewhat glum tone.

The Mayor gave him a quick hug as he dismounted off his ATV, knowing how difficult his situation was. In fact, Jake, Katie and all of the pups were looking very depressed as well, so Mayor Goodway tried her best to be as comforting and uplifting as possible.

"Well guys, we have made some fantastic headway in restoring Adventure Bay!" she cheered, "Almost ALL of the debris throughout the whole city has been cleared! We just have Farmer Yumi's place left, and it couldn't have been done it without you guys."

"Our pleasure ma'am," Marshall spoke up, accepting the Mayor's gratitude.

This was quite uncharacteristic of Marshall, and quite frankly, it resembled something Chase would say. The dalmatian had been acting this way ever since they left the hospital. Chase was noble, polite, a leader, and most importantly, second in command at the Paw Patrol. However, Chase was no longer with them, and it left a huge gap in their team; a gap that was noticeable by everyone. Being the german shepherd's best friend, Marshall felt it was his responsibility to honour the police pup's role and presence. People needed to remember what an amazing pup Chase was. So Marshall decided to fulfil that goal by following in the footsteps of his best friend.

"We should be able to clear all the debris by sundown, maybe even earlier!" the Mayor hoped, "Let's head over to Farmer Yumi's now! Who's with me?"

There was a short pause at first, nobody was really motivated to do anything anymore. However, despite feeling this way himself, Ryder tried to get the gang motivated too. It was the only way to get things done. On the inside, the pain and grieving would never go away, but for now, the least they could do was put on a few fake smiles. Regardless of how they actually felt, they had no choice but to move on and live their daily lives.

"Come on guys!" Ryder unexpectedly shouted, "Let's get this job done! I know we can do it!"

The pups looked up at the boy, sort of unsurely, while Jake and Katie chimed in on Ryder's incentive.

"Come on pups!" cheered Katie, "Let's do this!"

"Yeah guys, it's what Chase, Rocky, and Skye would have wanted," added Jake.

This seemed to win over the pups. A few smiles started to appear and tails started wagging in motivation.

"There's the pups I know and love," smiled Ryder, "Let's get a move on!"

"Yes sir, uhh… Ryder sir.." Marshall's tongue twisted, earning chuckled form the other's.

"Paw Patrol on a roll!" Ryder shouted.

And with that, the leader of the Paw Patrol lead the gang down to Farmer Yumi's.

* * *

In the middle of one of the many narrow, winding dirt paths throughout the forest, there was Chase; sprawled out on his belly completely motionless apart from the occasional inhale and exhale of air. He'd just woken up, or had he? It sure felt like he did, but in all honesty, Chase couldn't even remember a specific point in time at which he actually opened or closed his eyes. Staring into the ominous forest and all of its trees was too familiar to Chase now, and it was causing him to not think straight.

Not only that, but half the time his mind was on food. It had been almost five days since his last proper meal, and that was breakfast before the tsunami hit. Leaves and plants always got stuck in his teeth and every time he'd try and eat bark, he wouldn't be able to keep it down. To make things worse, his broken leg wasn't getting any better either. The cast he made was becoming less effective and every so often it would just fall apart, causing him to waste more time and energy fixing it.

However, despite all of this, the german shepherd didn't give up. After laying down for a few more moments, he gathered up the strength to stand up and limp onward. The lack of food and sleep really took its toll on the poor police pup, but he wasn't going to be defeated. The tsunami may have taken away a lot of things in his life; his friends, his family, his home. But the last thing it was going to take away was his hope and determination. Thus, Chase carried on.

This time, however, it took about forty-five minutes for something to interrupt Chase's journey. Despite this being a relatively short time span, it was probably the longest he went without something disturbing him. In fact, it wasn't even the typical shadows or rustling of leaves, much to Chase's relief. It was a sound he couldn't quite make out, but knew it was there. As he continued along the path, the noise grew slightly louder and clearer.

 _Hmm.. sounds like.._ he gulped _...rushing water!_

Once the realization set in, Chase was sent into a mode of panic; similar to the one he was in way back in Adventure Bay when the initial tsunami came into view. Sweat dripped down the pup's forehead as he desperately looked around for something to climb up. Upon spotting a tree with a decent amount of branches, he bolted over there and began his rapid ascent. There was no way he was going to get caught up in the same situation as he did days earlier with the other pups.

About three branches up, Chase took a moment to glance in the direction where the sound of the water was coming from. In that moment, he was hit with a wave...

Only, it was a wave of relief.

Over in the distance was a small creek with rushing water splashing against the shallow rocks. The german shepherd sighed of disappointment upon realizing how much of a nervous wreck he was becoming. He slowly and carefully climbed back down from the tree and stood at the water's edge.

"At least it's not something life-threatening," he said to himself, trying to stay optimistic.

Amidst all of the commotion, Chase forgot how thirsty he had been for the past few days. Not to mention, he was extremely dirty after being tossed around in the salty ocean water and sleeping on the ground every night. Without hesitation, Chase hopped into the knee-deep river and splashed around, getting rid of the filth covering his fur which left a trail of murky water behind him. At the same time, he took an extremely refreshing drink of the clean water which soothed his throat of its pain and dryness.

For the first time since the tsunami, Chase felt fresh; almost as if he had been revitalized from his grave. Psychologically, it was something Chase really needed. The chances of him escaping the forest while in a glum and hopeless mood were not very high, and this was sure to help him.

Now that the first order of business was taken care of, Chase began thinking straight again. After analyzing his current situation, following the river seemed to be the best option. Not only would he have a source to drink from, but the creek would most likely lead to a larger body of water. There, it would be much easier to escape the forest by simply following the coastline. In all honesty, Chase didn't care where it lead him, as long as it was away from here.

As the german shepherd trudged along the edge of the creek, it gave him a lot of time to think. For some odd reason, the whole time he was by the small creek, nothing seemed to bother him; no shadows, no odd noises, just the gentle sound of flowing water. It was calming to say the least. He started to think about it a bit more, as it was very intriguing. Ever since he was first stranded in this forest, strange things started happening and they were different every time. However, the most fascinating part of it all, was that no matter what happened, that peculiar upside down "A" symbol would always appear sooner or later. Yet he still didn't know what it meant.

The thought occupied Chase's mind for while. In fact, he'd spent a whole two hours walking and thinking about it. Unfortunately, throughout this time the shepherd didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Sure, he covered a lot of ground, but he was still surrounded by trees and plants. If anything, the brush was thicker than when he found the river, a lot rockier too. Nonetheless, Chase continued to maneuver his way through the terrain alongside the river. Besides, there were much worse things that he could be complaining about at the moment, so in the grand scheme of things, this was nothing. He simply limped onwards with the thought of the strange phenomena and symbols locked in his mind.

* * *

Skye's head bobbed up and down as she continuously went in and out of a deep sleep. From the first day she'd been lost in this forest, her sleep schedule had been completely out of sorts. Running around made her much more tired than usual, the lack of sunlight at all times made it hard to tell between night and day, and the constant anxiety and fear of something lurking in the shadows resulted in a huge lack of sleep. However, this continuous state of being awake and alert was beginning to catch up to her.

Despite her efforts to stay awake, her head ended up gently resting upon the cold surface of the large stone that she was sat on top of. This happened to be the same stone that was next to the river when she first found it; the same one with the upside down "A" symbol scratched into it.

Unfortunately, her much-needed rest was short lived. About five to ten minutes later, a faint sound in the distance disturbed her sleep. The noise may have been quiet, but due to the constant silence throughout the entire forest, even the faintest of sounds were amplified and could be heard from miles. After shaking herself awake, she focused on the sound more closely which caused alarm bells to ring inside of her head. The rustling of plants was back, and by the sounds of it, it was getting closer.

Skye was about to make a run for it, but hesitated.

 _No, I'll hide!_ she frantically thought, _I won't be able to outrun anything, I'm exhausted… but what if it finds me?!_

Before the cockapoo could make a decision, a twig close by snapped, causing her heart to skip a beat. Whatever it was, was too close now.

 _Looks like I don't have a choice now,_ she gulped.

She quickly ducked down behind a large part of the stone and curled up into a ball, making as little noise as possible. However, she couldn't help herself from softly whimpering and breathing heavily. The cryptic shadows and eerie noises that constantly followed her around the forest absolutely petrified her, and she wanted them to stop so badly.

 _Please make it go away, please!_ She repeated inside her head.

Almost immediately after thinking this, the rustling stopped, just like she had asked. The cockapoo opened her eyes, completely puzzled. After pinching herself to be sure she wasn't just dreaming, she went to have a look if anything was there. As her head slightly peaked over the stone, her blood went cold.

Along the side of the small river, pretty far in the distance, she could see a figure walking her way. Skye was about to duck back down almost instantly, but she noticed something odd. This figure wasn't like the other shadows she had been seeing for the past few days. This thing wasn't pitch black, and it was much smaller in size. Not to mention, way less terrifying. Only, she couldn't make out what it was since it was so far away. So she decided to watch it carefully while staying mostly hidden, in case it posed some sort of threat to her.

Considering she had seen absolutely no sign of life throughout her whole time of being in the forest, this was pretty unorthodox. The cockapoo started at the _thing_ for a few moments as it got closer and closer, and then finally into her field of view. That's when her heart dropped to her stomach.

 _No, I'm hallucinating again,_ she automatically assumed, in complete denial of what she was witnessing. She closed her eyes and shook her head, assuming when she looked up that it would be gone. But when she opened her eyes it was still there.

Skye shook her head, letting a tear roll down her cheek, _No, this can't be true. It's impossible._

But as she continued to spy on the figure, and it still didn't disappear, a small grain of hope began to build inside of the fragile cockapoo. However, she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was only one way to find out.

* * *

As Chase entered a small clearing with a few rocks, thoughts of fatigue began take over his mind. They overcame the thoughts of the strange forest occurrences. Suddenly, he got that uneasy feeling that was now becoming familiar in this forest. Someone was watching him. Reacting as he usually did, the german shepherd faced down and continued walking, trying not to make eye contact with the shadows or anything that might scare him. Never did he expect to come across what he was about to see.

"C-Chase?" he heard a subtle and somewhat frightened voice come from the distance, "Is t-that you?"

Chase's head shot up immediately. He recognized that voice anywhere. Upon looking up, his eyes locked onto someone standing on top of one of the large stones; a pup he thought he'd never see again.

"...Skye?!" he called out in disbelief.

"It _is_ you!" the cockapoo cried as she jumped off the stone and sprinted towards the police pup.

Chase was at a loss for words. It all happened so quickly, yet it was so unbelievable. He, too, ran towards the crying pup.

The moment they made contact with each other, the biggest sense of relief they'd ever felt had fell upon them. Skye jumped into the shepherd's arms, stuffing her face into his chest as he held the cockapoo tight within his grasp, closing his eyes and passionately nuzzling her. Chase fell onto his back, completely lost in the moment and trying to process this near impossible reality.

At this point, Skye went from softly sobbing to bawling her eyes out; she simply couldn't believe that the shepherd was lying beneath her, alive and well. Chase just kept nuzzling her, satisfying both of their comfort. Words simply could not describe how grateful he was to have Skye back in his arms after everything that had happened.

In the midst of all her crying, Skye lifted her head and looked down at Chase as her tears continued to drip from her eyes onto the shepherd's chest.

"I.. I saw you d-die," she stammered in between cries, "The wave... i-it just... plowed you over... I thought I'd never see you again..."

Chase felt a lump form in his throat upon hearing this and pulled Skye back into a hug. He felt the same way. Him surviving was an absolute gift; there was no way he should have escaped alive, let alone both him and Skye. For the past week, he assumed and accepted that Skye was no longer with him. And now, to have her here lying on top of him, it was just so emotionally overwhelming.

They lied there like that for a long time, recovering from the joy and disbelief that was engaging their bodies. While Skye cried until she ran out of tears, Chase used all his might to hold _his_ tears back. The german shepherd was still in that mindset which had the idea of police pups not crying. Besides, he especially didn't want to break down in front of Skye, the love of his life. Not only would it be extremely embarrassing, but he would be ashamed of himself as well.

The two eventually were able to stand up and somewhat calm down, at least regaining the ability to speak properly. Being the caring pup Chase was, he firstly wanted to make sure everything was fine with Skye.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?" Chase questioned.

"No, not really.. just a few scrapes and bruises here and there," she sniffed, still wiping some tears from her face. "How about you?" she inquired, worried about her mate as well.

"Uh... I guess...somewhat…" Chase bit his lip as he gave a not-so-ensuring answer.

Skye tilted her head and gave the german shepherd a concerned look. "What do you mean, Chase? Are you okay?"

Chase tried to look for an answer but couldn't spit anything out. He cleared his throat and looked down at his front paws, trying to compose himself.

After not receiving an answer, Skye got closer to him. "Chase?" she reiterated.

It was all becoming too much to handle now. The past few days were barely manageable; the traumatic experience of nearly drowning, the painful leg fracture, the acceptance of losing his family, even the obscure shadows. Chase hardly made it through without losing his cool, and it was arguably the hardest thing he'd ever done. But now that he was reunited with Skye, especially after everything that happened, he could no longer hold it all in.

The police pup looked up at Skye and bit his lip again, swallowing hard. Slowly, as tears started leak from Chase's eyes, he shook his head 'no'. Before Skye could respond, the shepherd quickly looked down again trying to wipe his eyes, but the tears kept on flowing.

Skye felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Chase was tough to break down and always tried to be positive about everything. In fact, Skye couldn't remember a time he had ever cried, even just a little bit. And to see him now, the pup she loved so much, in such a broken state was just agonizing.

The cockapoo brought the shepherd into a hug, and this time Chase buried his face into _her_ shoulder. He started crying much more aggressively while Skye just rubbed his back, trying to be as comforting as possible. His sadness even made her shed a few years. Seeing Chase express his emotions was rare, but above all things, it was pure.

Chase was able to get a grip on his emotions shortly after. Once the two broke the hug, he looked down again while sniffling, slightly ashamed of his sudden outburst.

"Sorry you had to see that," he apologized, "Please don't tell anyone... police pups aren't supposed to cry..."

While Skye disagreed with that statement, the cockapoo thought it was really brave that Chase did end up crying. Not only was it the right and healthy thing to do, but he revealed his true colours right in front of her, showing how much he trusted and cared for her.

In response, Skye lifted Chase's face back up with her paw, and planted her lips on his. Chase slowly closed his eyes and kissed her back, something he hadn't been able to do since the day before the tsunami hit. The feeling was so nice, it was indescribable. It put an end to his miserable state. In fact, it was playing a huge part in both of their healing processes regarding the traumatic experiences they both had.

After what seemed like forever, Chase pulled back and looked at the cockapoo with the purest face. He was so happy that Skye was able to be here and comfort him; he didn't know what he'd do without her.

"Don't be sorry Chase. Everybody cries, police pup or not," she comforted, "We have tears for a reason. It's the only way to properly heal and get past things."

Chase nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I do feel a lot better," he smiled. "But can you please still not mention this to anyone... it's still kinda embarrassing, for me at least…"

The cockapoo giggled and licked his cheek. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me!" she winked. However, her mood quickly turned serious again upon spotting Chase's leg.

"Oh my gosh! Chase, your leg is so swollen!" worried Skye, "And what's on it?"

Upon looking back, Chase remembered his unfortunate situation. "Oh yeah," he sighed, "I think my leg might be slightly fractured…"

"Are you okay?" she gasped, "How did this happen?"

"I'm pretty sure it happened when the tsunami hit, I was getting thrown around and bashed against tons of things. It felt like a washing machine." the shepherd recapped, "I tried making a cast but it keeps breaking… so yeah it kinda hurts."

"Well let's make a better one!" suggested Skye, "This time you'll have four extra paws! It'll be easier."

Chase just stared at Skye in a daze. He found it so adorable that despite their dire situation, she could still maintain her cheerful attitude and a smile on her face.

"I missed you Skye," he smiled and walked up to her, licking her cheek, "I'm so glad you're okay."

Skye blushed and smiled back. "I'm glad you're okay too," she replied.

However, their grateful comments brought yet another sad topic among them. One that they were still dreading to accept.

"Speaking of us being okay…" Chase began, "You think there's any chance that, well… Marshall and Rocky are okay?"

Skye sighed at the question, even though she _was_ expecting to come across it at some point. She took a deep breath and prepared give the unfortunate answer.

"I didn't really get to see much of what happened to them," Skye muttered as she looked down in dismay, "The building collapsed and I was so focused on trying to stay afloat myself, by the time I had the chance to look for them, they were out of sight. But based how lucky I was, and I'm sure you can relate, I… d-don't think they made it."

After struggling to spit out the words, Skye let out a whimper as a few tears hit the ground below her. Chase walked up and put his arm around her, allowing her to bury her face into his shoulder. It was a really hard pill to swallow, despite still having found each other. Pups that they grew up and spent their lives with were presumably gone forever. The funny and clumsy personality of Marshall, along with the wise and creative mind of Rocky were never going to be shared again.

As sad as the loss of Rocky and Marshall was, the two pups had expected this conclusion and had already thought about it much more in earlier days. At the moment, they were simply coming to terms with it. Nonetheless, it was still extremely upsetting. They comforted each other for a while until they could compose themselves enough to get back to work.

Chase turned Skye's head so she was facing him. "It's okay," he subtly said as the police pup stroked his paw through the cockapoo's soft fur, "They're in a better place now."

"I know," she sniffed, "I'm just going to miss them so much."

"Hey, let's not think about how happy we would have been if they were still here," Chase suggested, "Instead, we should remember all of the good times we had with Rocky and Marshall, and be thankful we got to experience them."

A small smile grew on Skye's face as she thought about a few of the times when Marshall had crashed into all of them before missions, or when Rocky would get splashed with water while trying to do everything possible to stay dry. It would be funny and heartwarming things like these that the two would be remembered by.

Chase noticed her smile and finished off his message, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

Skye looked back up at him with a bigger brighter smile. "I like that," she giggled, "And I think I'll live by it. As sad as I am that they're gone, the memories I have of them are irreplaceable."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Chase as he nuzzled her neck.

"Now, onto more important things," she changed gears, "Let's get to work on your leg."

"Good idea," the shepherd agreed.

Quickly, they began finding necessary things to reconstruct the cast. They wrapped new leaves around the old ones, replaced the broken sticks, and got twice the amount of vine as before to ensure the cast was reinforced. As Skye mentioned, it was indeed much easier. Instead of Chase having to twist his body and struggle to reach his leg like last time, Skye was able to get a firm hold of his leg and efficiently create the cast around it.

"How's it feel?" Skye asked as she stepped back and admired her masterpiece.

"Good as new!" Chase proclaimed, as he looked back and moved it a little.

"Here, go rest it in the water for a little while," Skye suggested, leading him over there, "The cold temperature will reduce the swelling."

"Whoa, who do you think you are? Marshall?" Chase teased.

"Oh I'm sorry, would you like me to take the cast back off?" Skye smirked.

"Touché," Chase grinned as he caught up and nuzzled the cockapoo.

This was also something they maybe didn't notice on normal days, but dearly missed upon realizing its absence over the past few days. The sarcastic humor that the two shared together was something they did everyday and it was just another thing they loved about each other. Without it, things were much more dull and lifeless.

Chase and Skye were simply made for each other. Had they not happen to find each other, or for that matter, even make it through the tsunami altogether, neither of them would have probably ever been the same. They would have been completely different pups compared to their past selves. Them finding each other in this colossal forest was fate running it course; it was an absolute miracle.

Their love was truly written in the stars.

* * *

 **I'm sure some of you were praying this would happen, and I'm glad to say that it has! :) Chase and Skye have been reunited, alive! I must say, this was probably my most favourite chapter to write so far. Hopefully it was just as pleasing to read. Now, as I said, it may be a little while before I upload again due to exams... and possibly due to another project I'm working on for YouTube ;) more of that to come...**

 **Until next time!**

 **~Swarm X**


	13. The Revelation

**Please read the A/N at the end of this chapter once you've finished reading, I need to explain something. Thanks :) Hope you enjoy Chapter 13!**

* * *

A cool breeze whistled throughout the cave and through the mixed breed's fur, who was currently in a deep sleep. Rain poured from the sky and onto the forest, creating a racket that resonated within the cave along with some crashes of thunder sprinkled in there. As the storm got worse, Rocky slowly began to drift back into consciousness. The environmentalist pup yawned and rubbed his eyes. After looking up, the first thing he saw was Valak standing directly above him and staring at him with his black, soulless eyes.

Rocky immediately gasped and jumped back, not expecting to wake up to that.

"Jeez dude, you scared me," Rocky sighed after catching his breath, "What's the big ide-"

"Come," Valak coldly interrupted as he turned around and gestured Rocky to come outside.

"What?" Rocky tilted his head and gave a perplexed look.

Valak stopped and looked back. "It's morning. Time to look for your friends," he replied sternly.

"In this rain?" Rocky questioned, "I don't think that's very safe..."

Whenever it would storm back at the Lookout, Ryder was very strict about going outside. He said it was very dangerous especially with the lightning and all. That was in a flat area with nothing but small buildings, with a few exceptions. He and Valak on the other hand, were in a forest with huge trees that were just begging to be struck by lightning. However, Valak didn't seem to care.

"You want to find them don't you?" the wolf scoffed.

"Well, I guess…" the mixed breed shrugged, still not wanting to go out in the storm.

"Well then come," Valak ordered, "Now."

Rather than disagree with the wolf some more, Rocky let out a sigh and followed him outside. Valak was beginning to seem a bit intimidating, and the mixed breed definitely didn't want to get on his bad side.

As they exited the cave, Rocky shivered as the cold, wet gusts of wind smacked against him. He completely forgot how much he hated the feeling of water on his fur. It wasn't as bad once they made their way from the clearing into the tree area, but it was still slightly irritating. Even so, his tolerance of water _had_ increased dramatically ever since the tsunami hit. A few raindrops was nothing compared to the near-drown experience he had. Thus, the mixed breed went on with Valak, simply ignoring the rainfall and instead focusing on finding the pups.

The forest was much different in the rain. It looked quite a bit more creepy and ominous, due to the mist and dark clouds. However, that was compensated by the rain making the forest seem more alive. The rainfall allowed a constant and somewhat relaxing rhythm to flow through the air as opposed to the silence, and the dripping of water and wind caused some of the plants to pleasantly sway. In all honesty, besides the water aspect, Rocky actually kind of liked the forest better this way. It caused him to be much more calm and less anxious.

About half an hour into their journey, they passed by this distinct tree which had these massive leaves. One of them actually branched over the path, right above Rocky and Valak's head. The rain water streamed over it like a waterfall, and the mixed breed found it quite interesting. As he passed under it, the pup gave a slight chuckle, not even bothered by the splash of water. So long as Rocky was in such a calm state, nothing really seemed to bother the environmentalist pup.

The two of them ventured on for some time, all while hardly speaking a word. Rocky kept changing his focus between searching for the pups and admiring the beautiful scenery, while Valak was just not a very personable guy. Nonetheless, both of them didn't mind the lack of conversation, so they remained silent.

After about another hour of walking to no avail, Rocky spotted another tree like the one he had seen before. He smiled at the sight, remembering the one he saw earlier. However, the closer they got, Rocky saw another leaf that was hanging over the path. Not only that, but it was pouring down the rainwater just like leaf they saw before. As they walked under the familiar tree, the mixed breed finally broke the silence.

"Didn't we go by this tree already?" inquired Rocky, "It looks familiar."

Without even looking back, Valak responded bluntly, "No, there are lots of those trees in this forest. It's just a different one."

Rocky didn't really buy this though, seeing as the chances of walking under two different leaves like that were very low. "Are you sure?" Rocky double-checked, "That leaf was-"

"It was a _different_ one," Valak interrupted once again. Not only that, but like other times, the wolf simply responded without giving any reasonable explanation.

Rocky was starting to realize the peculiarity of his so called "wolf friend". The more time he spent with the wolf, the more the pup was realizing how weird and mysterious he was acting. With his suspicions raised, Rocky caught up with Valak so that he was walking directly behind the wolf. He tried to spot anything that was sort of 'off' about Valak; all in a mission to determine once and for all if he could be trusted, because so far his behaviour said otherwise.

It took about five minutes until Rocky actually caught something in the corner of his eye. It was on Valak's foot, and initially he couldn't make out what it was. Each time the wolf took a step, Rocky looked closer and closer, until he could finally make it out. And in that moment, he felt his heart sink into his stomach.

"Hey, uh, Valak," Rocky said, getting his attention, "I kinda have to, uh, do my _business_. Do you mind waiting a moment."

"No..." the wolf gave an impatient sigh and rolled his eyes, "Just hurry up."

"Thanks," Rocky replied.

In a quick little speed walk, the environmentalist pup made his way behind a few thick bushes which completely concealed him from Valak's view. Before doing anything, he peered through the bushes at Valak and waited for him to turn in the opposite direction, or at least look away. Once this happened, Rocky took his chances and bolted in the other direction without looking back. He tried being as stealthy as possible but also while travelling at the fastest speed possible. The mixed breed could not believe what he had seen on Valak's back paw; he never would have expected it.

On the bottom of that back paw, Rocky saw what looked like some sort of birthmark or scar that contrasted Valak's pitch black tone. The unsettling part was, that it was shaped _exactly_ like the unfinished 'A' symbol that had allegedly belong to 'Antichrist'. It was only now that Rocky realized, he was in deep trouble.

The wolf who was deemed the evil ruler of the forest. The wolf who hunted the souls of innocent people. The wolf that prevented them from going out and finding the pups. This whole time they had been trying to "avoid" him, yet it was Valak all along.

* * *

Up along one of the shelves in Chase's puphouse was a row of pictures, containing the Paw Patrol's fondest memories. Marshall sat in front of them, scanning each one and reliving the great times they all shared together.

There was a picture of Chase's birthday party, a picture of the gang on Friendship Day, and there was even a picture of Chase and Skye dancing at the Adventure Bay 75th anniversary party. Marshall let out a small chuckle as he remembered how fun and stressful that night was.

He continued looking down the row of pictures until he got to the end. There was a picture of him and Chase when they were younger; their very first day on the Paw Patrol. The two of them had been best friends ever since that day. Back then, they were the only pups on the Paw Patrol. In fact, it wasn't even the Paw Patrol back then. It was just him, Chase, and Ryder. He and the shepherd would simply sleep, wake up, eat, play until they would tire themselves out, and then fall back asleep on each other. Those were the days.

As Marshall thought more and more about Chase and all of the great times they had, he was eventually driven to tears. The dalmatian pup collapsed on the shepherd's bed and buried his face into the covers, letting his tears soak up as he savoured the scent of his best friend. How was he going to cope? The pup who had such a strong influence on him ever since he could remember was now never going to be seen again. It was all just too sudden. Even more so, it was much too soon.

Already in an upset, Marshall continued to look around in Chase's puphouse, assuming it couldn't get more sad than it already was. In the police pup's drawers, the dally found tons of nostalgic things that warmed his heart, but at the same time made him more upset that Chase was gone. In one drawer he found a bunch of the police pup's old toys, like Officer Bear. In the other, he found the shepherd's first baby tooth back from when he lost it and was terrified to go to the dentist.

Having found all these heart-warming memorable items, Marshall did not expect to come across what he was about to find. It brought back a memory that he wouldn't have even remembered had it not been for this discovery. Deep within one of Chase's drawers, there lied a pitch black, steel gun. It was just a pistol, a Glock 22 to be exact. Regardless, it was a real firearm and took the dally by surprise.

He thought back to over two years ago when Chase had initially showed it to him. The german shepherd made it very clear that he wasn't allowed to tell anybody about it, no matter the circumstance. Ryder gave it to him when he finished training as a police pup, saying that it was only to be used in the most dire of situations where someone's life may be at risk. Otherwise, it was to remain in Chase's puphouse, unmoved and untouched; not even Chase was allowed to hold it unless something extreme were to happen.

The dally checked behind him, making sure nobody was watching him or peeking their head in through the door. After a slight pause, he reached in the drawer and grabbed it. Marshall had never held a firearm before, and it's weight took him by surprise. He took the gun over to the bed where he sat down and looked at it a bit more.

Chase was gone, along with two of his other friends. There wasn't anything he could do about it; they were never going to come back. Still in an absolutely devastated state, Marshall contemplated,

 _If I can't bring them back, maybe I can go visit them myself._

Marshall slowly raised the gun up from his lap, not really thinking about what he was doing. Luckily, it took him about two seconds to realize that this was a stupid idea to even remotely consider in the first place.

 _I can't do this, why would I even think of it. I'm such an idiot!_ He thought is he dropped it back down onto his lap. _Is this thing even loaded?_ He questioned as he picked the gun back up and looked inside the barrel.

Suddenly, catching Marshall completely by surprise, Everest poked her head into Chase's puphouse, looking for the dally.

"Marshall? Are you in he-" the husky stopped mid-sentence as her eyes fixed on what Marshall was holding up to his face, "WHAT IS THAT?! MARSHALL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"No! Everest, it's not what it looks like?" Marshall quickly tried to explain as he dropped the gun back onto Chase's bed.

"What do you mean?!" Everest cried, getting more and more hysterical, "Where did you even get that?"

Marshall walked up to the husky and locked themselves into warm, comforting hug, showing Everest that he would never ever try to take his own life. He couldn't do that to himself, her, nor the rest of the Paw Patrol. As Everest cried into Marshall's shoulder, the dally gave her a kiss on the cheek and stroked her back. He was crying a little bit too now.

Marshall broke the hug and began to explain where the gun came from, along with what he was doing with it in the first place.

"I was just looking at it, I promise," he insisted, "Going through Chase's things trigger memories I have of him and they help me feel the slightest bit better about everything. I just happened to stumble upon this, I don't even think is was loaded."

"Well then let's put it back and keep it there," ordered Everest, "I want to forget that we even have something like that here, especially during times like these."

"Agreed," nodded Marshall. He grabbed the glock and carefully placed it in the back of Chase's drawer. As he piled in the rest of the shepherd's things and closed it, the dally sat back down next to Everest and sighed.

This time, Everest stroked his back. "I know you miss him," she comforted and gave a quick little nuzzle, "I do too. But no matter how sad or lonely we may feel right now or in the future, we'll always have memories that we can constantly replay in our minds for as long as we want. The pups may not physically be here, but their presence will remain with us forever."

Marshall cracked half a smile at Everest's words of wisdom and nuzzled his mate back. "I'm so glad I have you," he praised.

"I love you too," she responded, "If you're ever feeling down, just please come talk to me."

"Don't worry, I will," Marshall obliged, "Same goes for you?"

"For sure," Everest smiled, "Now, let's lighten up the mood a bit. Want to go get some liver treats?"

"You don't have at ask me twice," Marshall replied as he licked his lips, earning a chuckle from Everest. The husky lead her boyfriend out of Chase's puphouse, hoping to forget the chilling image of Marshall holding that gun up to his head. Marshall too wanted to forget about the whole gun thing. During a time like this where suicide may seem like an option, even though it is never an option in any circumstance, they figured it's best that nobody even knew there was a firearm on the premise. The gift of life is priceless and no matter how bad things may get, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

Rocky had been sprinting non-stop for about twenty minutes. Despite this short time span, he'd gotten farther than any other time he'd gone out in the forest; specifically when _Valak_ was guiding him. Everything was adding up now. Valak wasn't trying to find the pups, nor help Rocky escape. He was leading the mixed breed on a wild goose chase to try and get him to lose all hope, thus setting up the perfect opportunity for the wolf to strike on his lonely soul. It was just like how Valak described Antichrist; only he _was_ Antichrist.

Despite the pain in his lungs and chest, Rocky was determined to escape. The further he got, the less trees and bushes there were. That was a good sign. Hope was building up in the mixed breed's body, a sensation he hadn't felt since he was back home. As the rain grew heavier and the vegetation disappeared, Rocky eventually found himself on a trail. After looking up, there in the distance and much to his disbelief, he could see the end. There was a guard rail blocking the forest's entrance, presumably put there to prevent anyone from entering.

This life-saving sight brought him to a halt. As the pup's eyes fixed on the exit, a smile grew on his face as the biggest and most immense sense of relief fell upon him. It was finally going to be over. Within the fraction of time in which he stopped running, the thought of the other pups crossed his mind. It caused him to look back into the forest with an uncertain expression.

 _What if they're still in there…_ The mixed breed thought to himself. He sat there for about a minute pondering whether to go back and look, or escape while he had the chance. After making his decision, he looked back up into the depths of the forest.

"I love you guys," he sighed, "I'm sorry."

With that, he turned around and took off towards the exit which was still about a hundred yards away. Rocky knew that this decision was going to haunt him for the rest of his life, but it was one he had to make. He figured there wasn't going to be another chance like this for him to escape, especially in a labyrinth forest like this one. Besides, while there was a good chance that the pups were somewhere in the forest, there was also a chance they weren't at all. It was a risk that Rocky would regret had he taken it.

Nonetheless, he was at the final hurdle. The guard rails got closer and closer at he ran along the muddy trail towards them. His speed was progressively decreasing though, as he had just made full out sprint for at least a mile or two only moments before. Rocky was almost there; one step closer to making it home. Suddenly, however, the mixed breed spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

To his side and a little deeper into the forest, there was a dark figure which was keeping pace with him. The mixed breed didn't need to think twice in order to know who that was. Rocky's face went pale as he focused his eyes back on the exit and attempted to use his last drops of adrenaline to power through the remaining thirty yards of the trail. Unfortunately for him, it simply wasn't enough.

With a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder, Valak appeared in front of Rocky, bringing him to a screeching halt. The mixed breed was almost brought to tears as he stood before the black wolf who looked much bigger and much angrier.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my good ol' friend, Rocky," Valak smirked, "It seems you may have lost your way while going to do your _business_."

Rocky frowned. Valak had been fooling him for the past week out here in the forest, and after being so close to freedom only to be stopped at the final stretch, the mixed breed's tempers were fuming.

"Don't call me your friend," Rocky snapped back, "This whole time you had me thinking everything was going to be okay, that I would find my friends and make it home. But no, all you wanted was to get my hopes up only to feast on my lonely soul. You're not Valak... you're Antichrist."

"Ah, I see we have a clever young pup here," the wolf toyed with him some more, "But there's one thing you must know. There is no Antichrist…"

Valak paused as he lifted up his paw and gave an evil grin, "There's only one _Valak_."

Upon looking at the bottom of Valak's paw, Rocky realized the mistake he'd made throughout his entire time in the forest. It wasn't an unfinished 'A'. It was a 'V' for Valak, only it was upside down. It all made sense now.

"Well, why is it upside down?" Rocky glared at the wolf.

"Wise question," Valak evilly grinned, "Upside down represents evil. And what about me is evil, you may ask? Well, if you didn't figure it out already, you're about to find out now."

Rocky slowly backed up as his eyes widened at the sight of Valak standing up on his hind legs. The wolf's abs and muscles began to bulge, while his eyes transformed into a crimson red shade. He raised his arms as the dark storm clouds began to circle above him. Suddenly Valak let out a high pitched, bone-chilling howl that echoed throughout the entire forest. Frightened to the core, Rocky let out a cry of distress, only to have it interrupted by the loudest crackle of thunder he'd ever heard. This was quickly followed by a flash of lighting that struck a tree standing right next to the mixed breed.

Rocky opened his eyes after the initial shock and looked up to see the massive tree above him falling towards the ground. He could only let out a terrified whimper as the enormous pile of lumber landed on his backside. Rocky winced and let out a blood-curdling scream that could be heard for miles as he felt the weight of the tree crush his body. Valak fell back down on all fours. With his muscles still defined and eyes still pitch red, the wolf got right up into Rocky's face, who was cringing in pain.

"How cute," Valak taunted, "You thought you could escape my grasp. Well how did that turn out for you?"

Rocky did his best to ignore Valak's little games and tried to squirm out from under the fallen tree. At the same time he desperately tried to call for help.

"HELP!" yelled the mixed breed, "ANYBODY, PLEASE!"

"Calling for help won't do you any good kid. Anybody that's managed to stay alive in this forest is far from us. Besides, they wouldn't be able to find their way even if they could hear you," Valak smiled.

Despite that statement, Rocky continued to shout, and the desperateness in his voice was becoming more evident as Valak took a few more steps towards the trapped pup. Tears were streaming out of his eyes as his fate seemed to be secured within the grasp of this evil wolf.

"It was always going to come to this, Rocky," Valak shrugged and sighed, "But you just had to choose the hard way."

He inched closer and licked his lips. Their snouts were now only separated by a few centimetres.

"Your time has come Rocky," the wolf said as he snarled, displaying his huge, razor sharp fangs.

"You're _mine_!-"

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, although, it kind of didn't end too well :(**

 **Now, regarding what I said I would explain at the beginning of this chapter. It's about my future on this site, and maybe as an author entirely. Recently, school has gotten a lot more difficult, and the workload has increased. Not to mention, I've been thinking about it, and it's almost been an entire year since I started Terror's Peak. Time flies, eh? Now, not to say I haven't enjoyed while myself writing this fic and interacting with you guys, it's just that I feel like my quality of work has been slowly on the decline. I'm definitely not short on ideas; I know exactly how I want to finish off Terror's Peak, and I've even brainstormed a few possible ideas for my next story (if I get that far). It's just that school has really decreased the amount of time I get to write, which is why I feel my writing isn't as good as it should be. That's where I reach an impasse. Now, before some of you panic, don't worry! I am 100% going to complete Terror's Peak. It's a question of whether I carry on after that. I love writing and would do anything to continue making fan fictions after Terror's Peak is completed, but I cannot guarantee that I will have much time to write because of school. When I don't get enough time to write, in my opinion at least, my quality of work decreases and that leaves me frustrated to the point where I call it quits for the night. Sooo I'm kind of unsure on what to do.**

 **Anyway, I thought it'd be important to share my predicament with you now, rather than drop it blindly on you guys when Terror's Peak is finished. I still haven't come to a conclusion, and it looks like only time will tell what I eventually decide to do. If any of you have any advice/suggestions, feel free to leave a review or PM me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Nonetheless, thank you all for supporting me throughout both of my stories, it's been a pleasure! I'll see you guys next chapter ;)**

 ** _P.S._ At the time I'm writing this, I'm currently three chapters ahead of this one (chapter 13). So if you disagree and don't think my writing has gotten worse in this chapter, its because I was referring to chapters I either haven't posted yet or am currently writing. Just thought I should clarify.**


	14. The Battle

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back :) Yes it's been a long while again, and I'm sorry. You know the drill, school is getting worse as the months go by and I kinda had writers block for the past month :/ But I'm back, and hopefully long enough to finally get this baby done. I have an idea for my next fanfic but it definitely won't be as long as Terror's Peak. While it's been fun writing and turned out pretty well, it was way too much work; I've learned my lesson XD**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 14, it's an action-packed one!**

 ****RECOMMENDED****

 **Since it's been like a month and a half since I uploaded, I suggest you reread the previous chapter, as this one is heavily linked with that one. Thank you, enjoy!**

* * *

With a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning, Chase and Skye were rudely awoken from a deep and much-needed sleep. The german shepherd stood up and shook the water from his fur, which ended up splashing an already soaked cockapoo.

"Ahem," she stretched and stood up, "do you mind?"

"No, not at all." Chase sarcastically winked at his mate.

"Oh, we've got a real comedian over here, don't we?" She rolled her eyes. "Ready or not, here I come."

Skye darted towards the police pup who took her warning as a chance to book it himself. He couldn't help but laugh as Skye playfully chased him along the river. Eventually, however, the shepherd ran into a big stone blocking his way. With the river on one side of him, and the thick brush of the forest on the other, Chase was cornered. The police pup turned around to see Skye slowly creeping towards him with a sinister grin, knowing she had trapped him.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," she smirked.

"Hey, hey, it was an honest mistake," Chase gave an innocent chuckle, trying to think his way out of this.

"I'm sure it was," Skye sarcastically sympathized with the shepherd, inching closer towards him.

Knowing the cockapoo wasn't going to back down, Chase closed his eyes and braced himself. Unfortunately for him, he didn't expect to get pushed into the river, which is exactly what happened. In fact, it startled him so much he even let out a little yelp, much to Skye's amusement. The police pup emerged from the water only he see Skye struggling to hold in her laughter.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, "I just couldn't resist!"

"Fair play," he shrugged, knowing he probably would have done the same.

Chase reached out for Skye's paw to help him out of the river. However, Skye realized her fatal error once she reached back for Chase's paw, as he yanked her into the frigid water with him. This time when she resurfaced from the water, it was Chase who was laughing out loud.

"Should have seen that coming," she rolled her eyes, scolding herself.

"Are we even now?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think so," Skye chuckled.

Chase hopped out of the river and quickly shook himself off. This time he helped Skye out of the water, and neither of them were thrown back in. They both tried to dry off as best as they could but the rain that was seeping through the cracks of the giant forest leaves above was making it difficult. Once they were satisfied, however, neither of them were quite sure what to do next.

"So, now what?" Chase asked.

"Well, I guess we should keep trying to find our way out of here," Skye suggested, "I don't know about you, but I'm full of energy all of a sudden."

"Yeah, me too," Chase nodded, "It's weird. For the past week, no matter how much sleep I've gotten, I just felt so tired and could barely stay awake for more than an hour."

It was indeed quite odd. All of a sudden now that the two were together, they were completely energized and even had time for their little games. Meanwhile when they were isolated, both of them seemed shadows of their former selves. It was as if something was slowly eating away at their minds, and now that they were together they regained their strength.

"Anyway, you have any idea which way we should go?" Skye inquired, prepared to give it her all to get out of this forest.

"Well, like I was doing yesterday, I think it's best we follow the riv-" Chase stopped mid-sentence as his ears perked.

Skye was quick to question him upon noticing his perked ears, "What happened? Did you hear something?"

Chase answered as he turned his head and looked across the river, far into the distance. "It sounds like somethings moving. Running, actually," he corrected himself, "That's weird…"

"What's weird?" Skye questioned him again.

"Oh, nothing." Chase brushed it off. "It's just, I've been seeing these shadows for the past week and it's usually accompanied by rustling vegetation, just like what I'm hearing now. Only, it also comes with this horrible feeling that someone, or some _thing,_ sinister is watching me… but I don't feel that right now."

"Yeah!" Skye's eyes widened. "That same thing has been happening to me!"

"Oh my gosh!" Chase sighed of relief, "I thought I was going crazy."

"Me too," the cockapoo nodded, "I thought the forest was playing tricks on me… Speaking of which, do you smell that?"

The question kind of caught Chase off guard. He was so focused on listening to the crunching vegetation, that he hadn't even thought of using his nose. However, he sure did notice the scent now.

"Now that you mention it, I _do_ smell something familiar…" Chase said as he glued his nose to the ground, trying to pick up a trace of where the smell was coming from.

"I think… it's coming from that way," he pointed across the river in the same general direction as where the sound was coming from.

"Chase!" Skye gasped.

"What? What is it?" the shepherd quickly turned around. Skye's tone took him somewhat by surprise.

"Think about it. We both aren't feeling that horrifying sensation caused by the shadows, a familiar scent is coming from what sounds like someone running," the cockapoo pointed out, "Could it be…M-Marshall or Rocky?"

Chase paused for a moment as that thought crossed his mind. For a second or two, a small grain of hope built up inside of him. However, it was quickly shut down when the pup's logical side came barging through.

"I don't think so Skye," the police pup bowed in disappointment, "I know we both really want them to be alive, but it's probably just a coincidence. A few days ago I recognized a familiar scent and thought it was one of you guys too." Chase explained. "But it turned out to just be a piece of debris. If we follow whatever this noise or scent is, we could end up getting more lost or even hurt."

"But Chase, this scent just happened to come across us at the same time as the running noise did. Surely that can't be a coincidence," Skye countered in a little more desperate tone. She then followed that up with puppy eyes directed towards Chase. "Please, can we just head in that direction for now. You never know."

Chase looked back at his mate with an unsure expression. He tried with all his might to resist those puppy eyes, but he just couldn't say no. Sometimes he hated the fact that Skye was just so darn cute.

"Oh.. _fine,_ " the shepherd sighed as he gave in to Skye's begging, "But we have to remember which direction we came from, I think this river could be vital in trying to escape the forest."

"Thanks Chase!" Skye cheered as she ran up to him and nuzzled his chest. "Don't worry, if this turns out to be nothing we can come back here, I promise."

"Alright," Chase agreed, "But we better get a move on. I can't hear the sound anymore and the scent is slowly slipping out of range."

"Good call," Skye obeyed.

As the rain continued to pour down, along with the flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder, Chase and Skye crossed the river and headed towards the source of the sound that was heard earlier. They travelled with a slight jog to begin with, seeing as whatever ran by was probably gaining ground on them. However, they still didn't really know what they were going after. For all they knew it could have been nothing, or even worse, something dangerous. That didn't stop them from carrying on though. They jogged through the rain for about fifteen minutes before yet another strange thing occurred in the forest.

In the far distance ahead of them, the most terrifying and sinister howl they'd every heard echoed throughout the forest, causing the hairs on the back of their necks to stand tall. Skye whimpered and jumped into Chase's arms, burying her face into his chest.

"What was that?!" she cried.

Chase, too, was shell shocked by that and left speechless. Before he could think of anything to spit out, a bright flash followed by an ear-piercing crash of thunder ringed throughout the air, silencing the shepherd. Skye let out another whimper and wrapped her arms tighter around the police pup.

 _I knew this was a bad idea,_ Chase said to himself. However, for the third time they heard another noise in the distance which interrupted the german shepherd again. This time though, it sounded promising.

Very faintly, both of them picked up a faint crashing noise, followed by a high pitched wince; a pup-like wince. Skye dug her face out of Chase's chest as they both looked at each other in disbelief.

"What that a… pup?!" Skye stuttered, hardly being able to believe what she was saying.

Chase ignored the question and instead began heading in the direction of the noise. "Follow me, quickly!" he ordered, "If that was Rocky or Marshall, it sounds like they're in trouble!"

Skye didn't respond and simply followed Chase's order. She was just as eager to find the other pups and potentially help them out if they needed it. The two sprinted past the trees of the forest as raindrops from the ever-growing storm pelted their soaking wet faces. While they didn't notice it at the moment, the forest was becoming less dense the further they travelled, allowing them to move faster and more efficiently.

It didn't take long before Chase stopped dead in his tracks, causing Skye to bump into him. Before the cockapoo could say anything or question Chase as to why he stopped, the shepherd placed his paw over the cockapoo's mouth, preventing her from making a single sound. Quite bemused, Skye followed the direction of Chase's eyes and felt her heart sink into her stomach upon spotting what Chase was staring at.

Along an open trail, about twenty yards ahead of them, an enormous, pitch black wolf stood firm and tall, with its sharp teeth and glowing red eyes on display for all to see. It honestly looked quite demonic. More importantly, however, a familiar friend was helplessly trapped under a fallen tree, inches from the fangs of the giant wolf.

Once Chase released his paw from Skye's mouth, she instantly started to panic.

"Chase, Rocky's over there!" the cockapoo whispered in a hysteric tone.

"I know," Chase acknowledged, "and he's in trouble."

Judging by the situation, they only had a few moments before something bad was going to happen to Rocky. Fortunately, Chase's instincts quickly kicked in and he came up with a plan.

"Alright, I'm going to go in there to try and save him." Chase hastily determined. "Stay here where it's safe."

"I can't let you go out there alone!" Skye protested with a worrisome tone in her voice. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"Skye, I can't lose you," he countered, "...not again."

"But Chase! I-"

Before Skye could say another word, Chase grabbed her cheeks and briefly, yet passionately kissed her.

"I love you."

Those were the last three words he spoke before making a mad sprint towards the sinister, black wolf.

* * *

"Your time has come Rocky," Valak snarled, displaying his huge, razor sharp fangs.

"You're _mine_!-"

Just as Valak was about to pounce on the poor mixed breed, the wolf felt a strong force knock him to his side, along with an immense pressure around the side of his neck. This force and intense pressure Valak was feeling was none other than Chase, who had just launched himself at the wolf, sinking the razor sharp canines of his own into his neck.

"What the-.." Rocky shook his head, making sure he wasn't seeing things, "Chase?!"

After letting out a huge roar, Valak was able to shake Chase off of him. However the german shepherd was quick to get back on his paws.

"You better think twice before messing with anybody on the Paw Patrol!" Chase barked at the wolf, showing how defensive and caring he was towards his teammates. He would do absolutely anything to protect them.

Valak felt the pain jolt through his body as drops of blood seeped through his fur and down his neck. The rage was building up inside of him. He let out another excruciating roar that even overpowered the thunder and lighting of the wicked storm.

"You're going to be sorry you even thought about messing with me, you little mutt!' Valak growled, taking a few steps towards.

Chase gulped in slight fear of what was to happen next, but it didn't show. The german shepherd stood strong and tall, simply replying, "Bring it."

Valak lunged at Chase with this razor sharp fangs sticking out and ready to pierce through the shepherd's skin. However, the police pup reacted quickly and dodged the wolf while also getting the chance to claw his side, leaving a ghastly mark. This only made Valak angrier and angrier, causing him to fight with full force against the german shepherd pup. He wanted Chase dead.

Meanwhile, Skye, who was strictly told by Chase to stay put, disobeyed these orders and quickly but stealthily made her way over to Rocky, who was more than delighted to see her.

"Skye!" Rocky exclaimed in a quiet tone, hoping to draw as little attention towards them as possible. "I knew you guys were alive!"

Given their situation, Skye only had time to nod and give him a short but tight hug. Immediately, the cockapoo started asking questions.

"Are you okay? How did this happen? Who is that?" she inquired.

"I'm okay for now, but before I explain we have to get this off me. We only have so much time before Valak sees you and attacks!" warned Rocky

Skye nodded and pushed with all her might to try and move the fallen tree. Rocky, too, tried to push the trunk up with his body, along with Skye's effort. The two of them got it to budge a little but it was nowhere close to moving. They needed one more pup. Unfortunately, that pup was currently _occupied_ to say the least.

The same thing repeated for a while now. Valak would lunge at Chase, only for the police pup to make a narrow escape while also grasping at any chance to get a hit on the wolf himself. Chase figured he was holding off well, but it was all part of Valak's plan; tire out the prey and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. Unfortunately for the police pup, that opportunity was soon to come. As Chase was about to dodge another one of Valak's attacks, he made a fatal error.

He slipped.

The pouring rain resulted in the entire trail to be covered in mud and puddles. Up to that point, Chase had been cautious to avoid all of them, but all it took was one lapse in concentration for him to stick his paw right in the middle of one.

Almost instantly, Valak bodychecked the shepherd, sending him a few yards back and knocking the wind out of him. As he lay there on the ground in pain, Valak walked up to him and pinned him down on his back. Chase let out a wince of pain as the wolf held down all four of his limbs, including his fractured leg.

"Did you really think you would be able defeat me?" Valak smirked, "Ha! You're pathetic."

"Get off of me!" growled Chase, "Leave my friends alone!"

"Sorry, no can do my friend," the wolf shook his head and grinned, "I live off of lost pups like you guys, and now _you're_ next!"

Valak placed his two front paws over Chase's neck and pressed down hard, preventing any sort of airflow to the police pup's lungs. The poor shepherd kicked and gasped for air, while the sinister wolf just watched and laughed. He wasn't the only one watching though. About fifteen yards behind him, Rocky and Skye watched in horror as their friend was being strangled to death by Valak.

They both flashed back to a week earlier. The two of them, along with Marshall, watched Chase desperately try to get up on top of Mr. Porter's restaurant as the tsunami raced in towards the bay. It was a life-threatening situation where all they could do was watch. They were forced to watch their friend be taken by the wave, and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. Skye couldn't hold back; she wasn't going to watch Chase be taken away from her again. Not this time.

In a mad sprint, the cockapoo leaped up towards the wolf and bit down hard on his tail. Valak's head shot up as he let out a cry of pain that echoed throughout the forest once again. He hopped off of the german shepherd and turned around with anger in her eyes, only to see the aviator pup locked onto his tail. Chase, on the other hand, turned over onto his belly and gasped for air. He nearly lost consciousness while in Valak's grasp and needed time to recover.

However, Valak didn't wait for anything. The wolf picked up Skye off his tail with his powerful jaws and threw her into the fallen tree that was still sat on top of Rocky. She, too, let out a wince as the side of her fragile body smacked against the bark, leaving a pretty big bruise. The pain forced the cockapoo to tears as she remained on the ground holding her side.

"Well well well, look what the wind blew in," Valak evilly laughed, "The third and final pup."

"Wha?" Skye looked up at the wolf through her tears, "You knew all of us were in this forest?"

"I sure did, and you two knew I was here too," he informed them, referring to her and Chase, who was still on the ground catching his breath.

It took her a moment to figure out what Valak meant, but when she realized, it all added up.

"So you were those shadows that terrorized us…" Skye muttered, glaring at the wolf.

"Aww, is someone upset that I gave them a little scare?" Valak teased her, resulting in a frown on the cockapoo's face. "Well, I'll tell you what. I'm not gonna be scaring you anymore, you know why?"

"W-why?" Skye gulped.

Valak paused and stared at the cockapoo with his crimson red eyes. "Cause you won't be alive for me to scare." He snarled as he got ready to lunge at the injured pup.

Skye shut her eyes, bracing herself for Valak to sink his monstrous fangs into her back. Instead, however, she and all of the others were met with a blinding flash of lightning and a deafening crash of thunder. It even caused Valak to stop in his tracks. The wolf had to blink a few times and even rub his eyes to try and regain his vision. The lighting must have struck no more than ten yards to his right.

Moments later, when Valak had regained his vision, he was about to proceed with his attack on Skye until he noticed something. Both the cockapoo and Rocky had their jaws dropped and eyes fixed on something that was above the wolf. Upon looking up, Valak's blood ran cold as his eyes met with an enormous tree trunk that was rapidly plummeting towards him. It was twice the size of the one that fell on top of Rocky. Before he could even let out a cry, let alone move, the massive tree trunk smacked and forced his head onto the ground, knocking him clean out.

Rocky and Skye stood still and silent, both in complete shock after what they just witnessed. They looked at Valak who now laid there motionless with a tree resting on his neck. From what they could see, there was no sign of breathing nor the beat of the heart. Meanwhile Chase, who had recovered from Valak's attack, instantly limped his way over the fallen tree that had just taken out the wolf.

"Are you guys okay? Did the lightning hit you?" Chase frantically asked, deeply concerned about his friends.

"No, we're okay," Skye said, wiping away a few of her tears.

"Oh my gosh Skye, your back," Chase sympathized upon noticing the bruise.

"It's okay, it's just a little sore," she informed him.

Now that he knew Skye was okay, Chase's attention was quickly drawn to Rocky next. "Oh jeez, Rocky let's get that off of you!"

The german shepherd used his strength and power to push on the giant tree. Rocky simultaneously used the remaining strength he had left to try and force the huge piece of lumber off of his back as well. With all of their might, after a few tries, the two managed to lift the trunk up enough for Rocky to squeeze out from under it. Boy did he feel good to be free.

Now that the pups were all on their feet and at least somewhat well again, they could finally take a breather and process what had just happened. Not only had they just been attacked and nearly killed by a vicious wolf, but they had just watched his life being taken from him right before their very eyes. While it was quite disturbing to say the least, it simply meant nothing to them at the moment. Most importantly, the three pups were alive and reunited.

Rocky was unbelievably grateful to find out he wasn't the only one who had survived the tsunami. Chase and Skye, too, were so relieved to see their environmentalist pup alive and well, especially considering his intense fear of water. Before any words were spoken, Chase and Skye tackled the mixed breed to the ground, containing their friend in a warm group hug.

Rocky looked up at them with glossy eyes. "I'm so glad you guys are okay," he sniffed, "I thought I was the lone survivor. I don't know how I would have lived on without you guys."

This warmed all of their hearts and Chase and Skye brought him back into a tighter hug.

"I didn't think you were going to survive that," Skye whimpered as a single tear shed from her eye, "I thought your hydrophobia would paralyze you. Thank God you overcame it when it mattered most."

"Yeah Rocky, I'm so proud of you." Chase added. "I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for you."

"Well, actually…" the mixed breed shivered as he recalled the thought, "I _didn't_ overcome my hydrophobia. It overcame _me_."

"What do you mean?" Skye inquired as she and Chase got off of Rocky.

"Well, when the building collapsed, I was still frozen in fear." the mixed breed recapped as he stood up as well. "And maybe a minute later… I d-drowned. I literally inhaled water and everything went black. It was terrifying."

"But, how did you survive?" Chase tilted his head, intrigued by Rocky's story.

Rocky slowly looked up and pointed towards the now deceased wolf. "Him. He brought me back to life."

"The wolf?!" Skye exclaimed.

"But why?" Chase questioned. "Who even is he?"

"That is Valak." Rocky explained. "He roams this forest constantly, looking for the lost, innocent souls of pups that cross his path; he feeds off of them. He tricked me into thinking he was going to help me find you guys, and I fell right into his trap. That's the only reason he saved me. So he could claim me as his own. Who knows what would have happened if you guys didn't come."

"He probably would have picked us off one by one," shivered Skye.

"Thank God that tree fell on top of him," Chase looked back, "That was the real life-saver."

"Yeah," agreed Rocky and Skye.

They all turned towards Valak and slowly walked up to his body. The large tree trunk rested upon the back of the wolf's neck who had his eyes closed. Just looking at him gave the pups cold chills.

"Y-you don't think he's still alive, do you?" whimpered Skye.

"I don't want to wait to find out," replied Chase.

"Good call," added Rocky, "Let's get out of here, the exits this way."

The mixed breed led Chase and Skye over the fallen tree and pointed down the trail where the guard rail could be seen. Both of them smiled at the sight of the exit. After spending a week in this utterly terrifying forest, there wasn't a sight that they wanted to see more.

"I thought we'd never find our way out of here." Skye sighed of relief.

"I know right!" agreed Chase.

"Tell me about it!" chuckled Rocky.

With that, the trio began to make their way out of the forest once and for all. However, something still was frayed on Chase's mind; only three of them were leaving the forest, Marshall was still missing. The german shepherd knew they couldn't go back in the forest and look, it would be too risky. Especially since the dally might not even be in there. So instead, the police pup said a silent prayer.

 _If you're still out there Marshall, I'm sorry you couldn't be with us right now,_ Chase said to himself, _No matter what happens, you'll always be my brother. Please be okay…_

The others were thinking about Marshall too, but had the same view as Chase based on their situation. Risking their lives to look for a pup who might not even be there just wasn't in the cards for them, especially considering how much they've all been through up to this point. If they were to go back in that forest, the chances of them not returning were almost certain. They all just continued to walk towards the exit in silence, keeping their beloved Marshall in their prayers.

Upon approaching the guard rail, Chase helped the other two pups under and then crawled underneath it himself. As they set foot outside of the forest, a wave of relief hit all of them and all of a sudden they instantly felt much safer. It felt as though they had entered another realm. Or perhaps, _escaped_ an evil one.

They weren't without their final scare, however. As the three pups stopped and looked back at the dense forest, something caught their eyes. Up against one of the trees that was bordering the forest, was a wooden sign. The words were all in uppercase and scratched into the rotting board of wood, giving it an overall creepy look. It read:

 _BEYOND THIS POINT THOU SHALT ENTER A REALM,_

 _WHERE DEMONS AND BEASTS WILL OVERWHELM._

 _TRY AS YOU WILL, TRY AS YOU MIGHT,_

 _ESCAPING THE FOREST IS AN UNLIKELY SIGHT._

 _WHATEVER SPIRITS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER EACH EVE,_

 _AS FAR AS YOU GO, THEY WILL NEVER LEAVE._

 _HAVE MERCY NOT FOR THE LONELY AND WEAK,_

 _BUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ENTERED_ _ **TERROR'S PEAK.**_

After each of the pups had finished reading, they looked at each other in slight fear. This eerie warning sign sent chills down their spine. Its ominousness was quite unsettling.

"Terror's Peak…" Chase muttered, "I can see why they call it that."

"Let's just get out of here," begged Skye, "This forest is evil and if Valak didn't emphasize that enough already, then that sign certainly did."

"I'm with you," Rocky agreed, "I don't know where we're going to go, but as long as it's away from here, I don't care."

To all of the pups' satisfaction, they headed onward into an open field, away from the forest. Jake's Mountain could be seen in the distance ahead as the sun set over the horizon of the forest behind them. The things they experienced and witnessed while in there, they wouldn't even wish upon their worst enemies. It was simply terrifying to say the least. The shadows, the isolation, Valak himself. It was the last thing they needed after experiencing the terrors that the tsunami brought upon them. But the best part about it was that it was all over. After losing all hope and escaping death multiple times, the three of them managed to escape the forest alive. With that, and everything else they had experienced, they couldn't help but feel they were going to make it home okay.

* * *

 **What a relief! Am I right? What a great chapter, the pups have been reunited _and_ they didn't get killed by Valak. I guess you could say that's cliché, but I don't have the will power to have any of the pups be killed in my stories... or at least in this one ;)**

 **Hope you guys enjoy! I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP! Thanks for the support!**

 **~SwarmX**


	15. Headin' Home

**A/N: Sorry guys, it's been a while but I'm back. Also, sorry again in advance because this chapter probably isn't the best. It's not that long and I only quickly looked over it, purely because I feel awful making you guys wait. I kind of just needed it as a filler chapter and it was a perfect opportunity to update you guys. Speaking of which, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I AM finishing this story. Don't you worry, eventually it will be complete. In fact, tomorrow when I have more time, I am planning on posting at least another chapter (maybe even two) to make up for how long you've all waited. I will make sure to properly edit them so you can enjoy the story, maybe not so much like this chapter :/ but what can ya do, that's the way it is sometimes.**

 **On a different note, thank you all for all of the recent support. Some of the reviews left on this story have been so kind and they warm my heart. You probably can tell if I'm referring to any of you :) Thank so much and I hope to continue pleasing you guys with more stories/content in the future. I hope you enjoy this chapter! More to come soon!~**

* * *

Ryder slowly opened his eyes to a quiet Saturday morning. It was about 9:30, much later than when he and the Paw Patrol usually got up for the day. The reasoning for that was because Ryder had announced that the Paw Patrol was temporarily on hold. With three of their pups gone, not only were they lacking essential skills for their missions, but they were also lacking the motivation and team spirit that they once had. Now, Ryder and the remaining pups felt this permanent emptiness inside of them, and it was enough to stop them from what they love doing the most, helping out Adventure Bay. The absence of Chase, Rocky, and Skye just made everyone feel much more lonely.

In fact, on this particular day Ryder felt a little more lonelier than usual. He was used to having Katie and Jake wake up with him at the Lookout, as they had been doing for the past week. However, the two of them, along with Everest had returned home the previous night. During that afternoon, construction crews were working hard and had finally finished Katie's Salon. They'd been in Adventure Bay for the past week reconstructing all of the destroyed buildings, and Katie's was the last of the bunch. The girl figured she'd settle into her new home as soon as possible, meanwhile Jake and Everest simply decided to get back and check on their cabin after being away for so long.

There was another reason as to why everybody home though. Mayor Goodway had contacted the entire town and scheduled a ceremony that would be honouring the pups lost in the tsunami, who, unfortunately, were the only three victims from Adventure Bay. Therefore, the three guests at the Lookout decided to go home the night before so they could prepare.

In all honesty, as appreciative as Ryder was, he was not looking forward to this 'ceremony'. It was just another reason for him to be extremely sad. Mayor tried to make it seem sort of uplifting by calling it a _ceremony_ , but essentially, all it was going to be was a funeral. It couldn't really be avoided.

After about ten minutes of just silently lying awake in bed, Ryder generated enough energy to actually get up. Still in his pajamas, he dragged his feet across the Lookout floor as he trudged on to the elevator. Both fatigue and depression were having their effects on him as he made his way onto the balcony. The boy leaned his body against the rail and looked up at the grey clouds covering the sky. They began let out small droplets of rain as Ryder's own eyes began to leak as well.

He looked up, as if into the heavens, and sighed. "Why did you have to take them," he mourned, "All we ever do is help out Adventure Bay… they were such good pups…"

The boy turned his attention back down to Earth. He gazed upon the puphouses that were parked around the Lookout's structure. All three pups were still inside, with no intention of coming out anytime soon. The sight only made Ryder even more sad.

"I'm sorry you pups had to experience this," he said to himself, "You don't deserve it."

Inside Rubble's puphouse, the bulldog was still sound asleep. Everyone was used to Rubble sleeping, but for the past few days he had been sleeping excessively and it was even abnormal for him. He'd go to bed early, wake up super late, and even take naps in between. Sleeping was sort of like his coping mechanism for this whole situation right now. At any opportunity he got, he wanted to escape this tragic reality and enter a place where he could be safe within his own mind; his dreams.

Meanwhile, Zuma was currently laid down and facing up in his bed, just like Ryder was moments earlier. He, too, was lost in his thoughts. He kept asking himself, _What if I listened to Rocky? What if I took his nightmares seriously?_ Given their nature and the timing, it only made sense that the mixed breed's dreams were some type of warning. Zuma couldn't help but think that maybe if he didn't blame those dreams on Rocky's hormones, just maybe all of the pups could have avoided the tsunami. Regardless of the comforting words everyone gave him, the chocolate lab still blamed himself. It was a decision he'd regret for the rest of his life.

Lastly, there was Marshall. Unlike Rubble, who could have slept for days, Marshall couldn't keep his eyes shut for the life of him. The thoughts of Chase, Skye, and Rocky were constantly on his mind and he couldn't help but bawl his eyes out every time he thought of the deceased pups. That was exactly what he was doing now. The dally had his face buried in his pillow as his tears soaked the soft cloth. He had been up for almost two hours and the entire time he was crying, mourning the loss of his friends. Marshall also had the same view on the ceremony as Ryder did. All it was going to do was make him more upset. Considering how devastated he was alone in his puphouse, he could only imagine how distraught he would be at this event.

For the rest of the morning, the pups and Ryder just kept to themselves and let each other do their own thing. The boy put out food for the pups so they could eat whenever they felt like it, but other than that, everyone mostly stayed in their rooms. The ceremony was set to start at noon so they still had a few hours, but nonetheless, nobody was looking forward to it.

* * *

Skye awoke on top of Chase's chest. After a long and tiring walk yesterday, the pups had stopped under a large oak tree in a grassy field so they could have a place to sleep during the night. In fact, it was actually their first full night of sleep in almost a week. Terror's Peak was so disorienting that all of them would sleep at the wrong times and only get a few hours of shuteye each time. Thus, waking up on this occasion was refreshing to say the least.

The cockapoo lifted up her head and looked around at the beautiful morning scene. The sky over the horizon glowed orange and pink, while Jake's Mountain could still be seen in the far distance. A slight fog filled the cool air as each blade of grass was covered with a coat of morning dew. The only sound to be heard were the crickets chirping a soothing melody. A smile grew on Skye's face. She couldn't help but admire the peaceful and calming ambiance that was surrounding her. It was such a nice change from the dark and sinister forest that they were once trapped in.

A cool breeze whistled through the air and the cockapoo's fur, causing her to close her eyes and snuggle back into Chase's warm fur. That was essentially how they slept the entire night; Chase laid on his back with Skye on top, while Rocky fell asleep next to the couple, gently leaning against the german shepherd. They all wanted to sleep together and as close as possible too, especially after being separated for so long. Having each other within arms reach was very comforting and important to all of them..

Chase slowly began to open his eyes as he felt Skye shift around on top of him. He looked up to see the adorable cockapoo bury her face into the fur of his chest, which slightly tickled at the same time. A heartwarming smile formed on the shepherd's mouth as he leaned his head forward and nuzzled the aviator pup, who, once again, was half-asleep on top of his belly. As Chase rested his head back onto the ground, he, too, embraced the lovely atmosphere that this morning was offering. His eyes wandered around the surrounding area as the crickets continued to chirp.

Eventually, his eyes set on Rocky, who was still fast asleep and resting against his side. Chase was still pretty tired himself, so he decided it wouldn't hurt to sleep for maybe a few more hours. Besides, the sun hadn't fully risen yet which probably meant it was still only five or six in the morning, and it seemed as though Skye went back to sleep too. In no time, the shepherd drifted off into another deep sleep, hoping to get as much rest as he could so they could begin their journey home as soon as possible.

A few hours had passed before Chase eventually woke up again. By now, the fog had ceased and the sun was shining brightly upon them. The shepherd blinked a couple times as his eyes adjusted to the light and looked around to see Skye and Rocky not too far away, stretching themselves out from their deep sleeps. The police pup yawned and stretched himself before making his way over to his two friends.

"Morning guys," Chase greeted with a smile.

"Morning," yawned Rocky.

"Good morning Chase!" Skye cheerfully greeted him back, "How's your leg feeling?"

"Well, it definitely could be better. Thankfully, _somebody_ did a very good job making a cast," he winked, "I should be fine for now."

"Whoa Chase! Your neck!" Rocky pointed out.

"Huh? What!?" Chase panicked while attempting to look at his neck, "What's wrong with it?"

While the shepherd really couldn't see it, his neck was quite clearly filled with cuts and bruises. Both concerned, Rocky and Skye got closer to their police pup friend to analyze the extent of his injury.

"It looks all bruised and beaten up," informed Rocky.

"Damn, it's probably from when Valak tried strangling me," Chase frowned at the thought, "I'm okay though, it doesn't hurt."

However, it didn't take very long for Chase to notice the scrapes and bruises that covered both the cockapoo and mixed breed.

"Oh my gosh, what about you guys!" he gasped, "Rocky, your back is covered in cuts and bruises! And Skye, you have a huge bruise on your side too!"

"Yeah, that's definitely from the tree that fell on my back," Rocky sighed, "It's sore, but nothing I can't handle."

"I'm in the same boat," added Skye, "It hurts a little, but I'll be able to walk it off."

"Okay, only if you guys insist." compiled Chase.

Now that their injuries were somewhat taken care of, they could focus on more important things. In fact, there was really only one thing in particular, and that was getting back home.

"So…" Rocky broke the silence as he turned his head towards Jake's Mountain, "Should we start heading in that direction?"

"Seems like we don't have any other choice," Chase agreed, "Are you up for it, Skye?"

"Anything to get back to the Lookout," she responded.

They all took a moment to mentally prepare themselves for the long journey back home. It wasn't going to be easy, but as long as they had each other, the pups were willing to take on anything.

"Well," Chase spoke up, "We'd better get a move on. We've got a long road ahead of us and who knows what's to come along the way."

"Hey now, if we were able to make it through Terror's Peak, we can make it through anything," declared Rocky.

Chase and Skye looked at each other, and then towards the mixed breed with reassuring smiles.

"You know what, you're right Rocky," deemed Chase, "We're the Paw Patrol! And no matter what happens, we _never_ give up!"

"Paw Patrol is on a roll!" yipped Skye as she performed her typical backflip, earning chuckles from the guys.

With that said and done, the three pups, as determined as ever, made their way towards Jake's Mountain which stood tall on the horizon. It was an extremely far destination, but with the hope, determination, and will power of the pups, anything was achievable.

Not job is too big, no pup is too small!

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 **Not a very exciting chapter, told you so :/ Don't worry though, more content will be out soon! Thank you for your patience!**

 **~SwarmX**


	16. The Funeral

**A/N: Welp, here's the next chapter! A little later than I promised, but still earlier than usual me... heh. One thing's for sure though, we are reaching the final hurdle of this story. Only one or two more chapters after this and it'll all be over (at long last LOL). I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Also, shout out to HavocHound for helping me come up with one of the scenes during this chapter (I won't spoil). Go check him out, he has some amazing stories that are worth reading!**

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Marshall awoke from his deep sleep in a mild daze. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, the dally rolled around on his bed trying to get rid of any tiredness left in his body. During this, however, he caught a glimpse of the time. His clock read 11:50.

"Ah shoot!" Marshall panicked as he scrambled out of his bed. "The funeral is in ten minutes!"

The dalmatian pup quickly stood up to find something to wear when he realized something odd. He was already dressed up.

 _Huh?_ He shook his head to make sure he wasn't seeing things. _I don't remember going to sleep in this…_

 _ **BEEP BEEP**_

Marshall slightly jumped at the sound of Ryder's ATV horn. The dally quickly ran out of his puphouse to see Zuma and Rubble quietly sitting in their vehicles, with Ryder standing close by. They all stared at him with the blankest of expressions; it actually kind of startled Marshall. That, along with the greyish-purple skies that hovered above the entire bay, gave him cold chills.

Before Marshall could question the peculiarity of the situation, Ryder simply waved him over, maintaining that cold and blank stare. Subsequently, the boy hopped on his ATV while Marshall obeyed and converted his puphouse into his fire truck.

As they drove to City Hall nobody spoke a word. In fact, it was dead silent all around; no birds, no other vehicles, not even the wind was howling. It remained that way until they reached their destination.

All of the citizens attending the ceremony were seated outside under the eerie sky. They had now directed their attention to the Paw Patrol, who had just arrived. Every single person had that same blank expression, and it was starting to throw Marshall off. To calm his nerves, he just assumed it was due to the sorrow that was contagiously spread among the crowd, however, his doubts remained in the back of his mind.

Mayor Goodway began making her way up to the podium just as the Paw Patrol had taken their seats. Marshall watched as the Mayor walked past three large coffins.

 _Wait… coffins?_ He questioned to himself. Completely puzzled, the dalmatian pup tapped Ryder who was sitting next to him.

"Ryder, why are there coffins?" he asked, "I thought the bodies weren't found..."

Without even looking back at his pup, Ryder simply put a finger too his lips, ordering the dally to be quiet. Marshall flopped his ears down and looked back towards the Mayor with a whimper. Never had he been treated so coldly, especially from Ryder. The dally knew his owner was upset, but this seemed a bit over the top. However, his thoughts were quickly drained out when the Mayor began talking.

"Greetings everyone." she said bluntly, "I share my deepest condolences for the three members of our beloved Paw Patrol who our no longer with us."

As the Mayor spoke the latter statement, she pointed to the three coffins that were set up in a row, next to the podium. Marshall stared at them in fear and agony.

 _Are the bodies actually…_ he gulped _...in_ _there?_

"However, before we commence with the ceremony, it would only be fair to have the Paw Patrol members themselves share some thoughtful words of their fallen teammates," she continued before giving a very condescending and cold look towards the dally. "Marshall, you're up."

The firepup's blood ran cold. The thought of him having to say a few words for the pups was always present in the back of his mind, but he wasn't prepared for it to actually happen. He assumed Ryder would have given them a heads up if something like this were to happen. To make things worse, for the first time since they had arrived, the audience seemed to liven up just a tad as they quietly applauded the dalmatian pup to go up to the podium. At this point, he had no choice.

Marshall quietly and timidly began walking up in front of everyone as Mayor Goodway took her seat. When Marshall arrived up at the podium, he immediately set his eyes on the open caskets. The image was horrifying to say the least. Chase, Skye, and Rocky were laid down in their separate caskets, eyes closed and pale as ever. So many things were crossing the dally's mind right now, from comprehending the lifeless bodies laid in front of him, to questioning how on earth their bodies were found in the first place. Before Marshall had the chance to look away from his deceased friends, the unthinkable happened.

The bodies of Chase, Skye, and Rocky started to move. In fact, they all rose up into a sitting position and faced Marshall. Their eyelids slowly lifted, revealing pitch black and soulless eyes. Marshall took a few steps back and whimpered in fear. Oddly enough, he seemed to be the only one frightened by this occurrence. Suddenly, the presumed dead body of Chase began to open its mouth.

"Why did you leave us Marshall?" It spoke in a scratchy and somewhat demonic tone, hardly resembling the friendly and comforting voice of the Chase _he_ knew. Skye's body then followed up after that.

"You left us all alone to die," she accused, speaking in the exact same voice as Chase.

Marshall felt tears form in his eyes as fear and confusion accumulated inside of him.

"What? What are you guys talking about?" Marshall cried. "How is this even happening?!"

"Don't you miss us Marshall?" Rocky guilted, also speaking in the same voice, "We're your friends, right?"

At this point Marshall's emotions became too much for him to handle and he started to break down.

"YES! You guys are my friends, _of course_ I miss you! Please don't hurt me!" he burst out into tears, "I would do anything to bring you guys back! I love you… and I want to be with you forever."

After a slight, dramatic pause, it was Chase who began to speak again.

"We can make sure of that," he said in his sinister, demonic voice as all three pups formed an evil grin across their faces. Subsequently, they all climbed out of their caskets and began closing in on the quivering dalmatian pup.

"No!" he cried, "That's not what I meant!"

As the deceased pups moved closer to him, Marshall made a break for City Hall's entrance. He used all of his strength to pry open the heavy doors and then quickly shut them behind him. Not even wasting time to catch his breath, the dally sprinted towards a nearby closet and locked himself inside the dark enclosed space. Marshall had never been so frightened in his entire life.

The trembling pup desperately reached for a lightswitch as his heart pounded against his chest. As Marshall felt the switch and flicked it on, a dim, flickering light eerily illuminated the closet, much to his demise. The dally turned around only to gulp at the sight of yet another coffin with its top open. He didn't want to look what was inside, but it was almost as if some unknown, relentless force was pushing him forward. As his paws carried him up to the coffin, the sight of what was inside nearly made him vomit.

There, lying with its arms crossed against his chest, was the lifeless corpse of none other than the dalmatian pup himself.

"What! But- How!?" Marshall choked on his words. As he comprehended what he was witnessing, the thoughts began to sink in.

"Am I… n-next?" he gulped.

Suddenly, he heard paws banging on the flimsy closet door. Marshall involuntarily let out a helpless whimper, ultimately giving away his hiding spot. He could start to hear the chilling, demonic voices of his so-called _friends_ coming from the hall.

"Open up Marshall!" they called form the other side, "It's time."

"No!" Marshall cried as he shut his eyes and curled up into a ball in the corner of the closet.

The knocking was only getting louder, and Marshall's hope was dwindling. He knew they were going to force their way in eventually, it was only a matter of time at this point.

"Open up Marshall! It's time!"

With one final and extremely loud knock, Marshall braced himself for the worst. Much to his surprise, however, he was met with nothing but silence. Upon opening his eyes at the strange occurrence, he was greeted with another shock. No longer was he in one of City Hall's closets, but he was safe inside his own pup house. The dally could now let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"It was just a dream," he whispered reassuringly to himself. Despite the fact that none of it was real, the whole scenario didn't fail to put Marshall in tears. Thoughts of failing to pull Chase up on top of the restaurant, as well as calling off the search party circled his mind. He began to wonder if it really was his fault that the pups were no longer with them.

Unfortunately for Marshall, it wasn't long before something else startled the poor firepup yet again. It was Ryder calling him from outside; his words resembled the phrase that was repeated throughout his dream.

"Marshall, open up," the boy gently called the dally's name for the third time, "It's time to go to the ceremony, Rubble and Zuma are waiting."

There was no response. Ryder had been knocking on Marshall's puphouse door for a little while now, but the dalmatian just layed down on his bed with his tear-stained face buried in the pillow. He'd never been so nervous in his life, and this nightmare didn't make him feel any better. He could only imagine how agonizing it was going to be sitting there helplessly and being forced to accept the deaths of his friends, which was potentially his fault. Thus, the poor dalmatian pup kept himself locked up in his puphouse so he wouldn't have to go out and face the truth.

"It's okay to be upset Marshall. Believe me, I'm devastated." the boy sighed as he spoke softly through the puphouse door, "Now, if you don't feel as though you'll be able to make it through this ceremony, you can by all means stay here. But, I'd feel a lot better if I had you by my side, and so would the others. I'm sure Chase, Skye, and Rocky would be very proud of your bravery."

After waiting and hoping for a response, all Ryder got was silence. Not even the quiet sobbing of the dally was heard anymore. It seemed as though the pup made his decision, and in all honesty, Ryder didn't blame him. None of them really wanted to go; they knew it would only cause them more grief. However, Mayor Goodway put in a lot of hard work and effort into organizing this commemoration for the deceased pups, so the least they could do was show up.

"It's okay Marshall, I don't blame you," Ryder stood up and began to walk to his ATV, "We'll be home in about an hour."

"Wait!" Marshall called as he finally emerged from his puphouse.

Ryder stopped in his tracks and turned around, facing the dalmatian pup whose eyes were stained red from crying. He couldn't help but give a heartwarming smile and kneel down with open arms, allowing Marshall to dart towards him and wrap his little arms around the boy. The dally was so glad to have such a caring and understanding owner. The boy would support them through thick and thin, no matter the circumstance. Ryder, too, was glad that he could always rely on his pups to lighten the mood.

"Thanks Marshall," Ryder thanked him subtly.

Marshall simply responded by nuzzling the boy's chest.

After hugging for a few more minutes, Ryder checked his pup pad and realized that they'd better get going. "Ready?" he asked the dalmatian pup.

Marshall looked up with tears still rolling down his cheeks, however, he nodded. The two of them joined Rubble and Zuma who were both in their vehicles ready to go. The english bulldog and chocolate lab were equally was devastated as Marshall, but were able to contain their emotions, for now at least. For all they cared, Ryder and Marshall could've taken an extra hour if they had to; anything to stall them from heading to the ceremony.

Nevertheless, the four of them made their way to City Hall; one of the only buildings, along with the Lookout, to maintain its original structure after the tsunami. As they arrived, almost the entire town was awaiting their arrival. Even Mayor Humdinger and the catastrophe crew were in attendance. Most people wore black and other dark colours as they held their umbrellas to shield them from the slight drizzle making its way over the bay. The setting created an atmosphere that was just so lifeless and sad. Not even the pink, blue and green flowers that covered the scene could cheer up the mood. This was only going to make it worse for when the ceremony were to actually begin.

After parking, Ryder and his three pups made their way down the aisle to their reserved seats in the front row. During this time, everyone went from having their own small conversations to complete silence, directing their attention to the quartet. Every single citizen of Adventure Bay had been helped at the hands of the Paw Patrol at some point in time and they were in complete dismay that their beloved rescue team of pups had been taken from them; they could only begin imagine how upset Ryder and the remaining pups were feeling themselves. Thus, they offered their complete attention, respect, and silence as the team arrived.

Before taking their seats at the front, the gang quickly and quietly greeted Katie, Jake, and Everest, who were sitting in the same row as them. They also took notice of three pictures that were in front of the podium where Mayor Goodway was set to speak; they were each individual pictures of Chase, Rocky, and Skye. Surrounding them were hundreds, if not thousands, of flowers and candles given by the people of Adventure Bay. Each and every one matched the colours of the three pups: blue, pink, and green. This simple act of kindness was enough to force a few tears from the eyes of Ryder and his pups, including Everest. That being said, however, Marshall was also somewhat glad there were no _coffins_ in sight.

Meanwhile, upon noticing the Paw Patrol's entry, Mayor Goodway stood up from her seat in the audience and made her way to the podium at the top of the flight of stairs. Luckily for her, everybody was already silent, so she was able to get started right away. Before she began speaking, she took a deep breath to brace herself for the emotions that were about to overwhelm her and the crowd.

"Citizens of Adventure Bay," Goodway announced, "We are all gathered here today with great sorrow, to commemorate the lives of Chase, Rocky, and Skye, which were unfortunately and undeservingly taken from us by the tsunami that struck only a week and a half ago…"

The Mayor went on with her speech, however she only made it a few sentences in with dry eyes. Tears flowed down her rosy cheeks as she continued to read, which opened the floodgates for almost everybody in the audience. People constantly grabbing tissues from their purses and pockets wasn't an unfamiliar sight at this point. Things got even worse as she began to go in depth with each of the pups' lives.

Rocky's outstanding intelligence was highlighted and honoured during her speech. Goodway talked of how reliable the mixed breed always was and how important of a role he played with inventing and designing all of the enhanced technology that the Paw Patrol uses to this date. Most importantly though, he was always so passionate about his work and wanted everyone to benefit from his creations. He'd never give up on an idea, no matter how many tries it took. Not only was this something that the Paw Patrol would struggle without, but it was a quality that would be near impossible to replace.

Next up to be honoured was Skye. The Mayor spoke about the cute little pup's overwhelming enthusiasm and how her optimism brought a smile upon the face of anybody she crossed paths with. It was true, she could always lighten up the mood, no matter how sad it would be. In fact, they could really use her personality to help cheer people up right now. Not only that, but the agile pup was brilliant at her aviation job and really came in clutch when they needed her most. The warm and friendly team spirit that the Paw Patrol once possessed would now be extremely difficult to achieve without her.

Lastly was Skye's mate; Chase. Not a single soul in Adventure Bay was braver, more determined, nor more loyal than the german shepherd pup, and Mayor Goodway didn't have to say that for people to know it. The heart and soul of the Paw Patrol, second in command, simply one of the biggest assets of the team. His leadership was greatly praised in the Mayor's speech, and it would be dearly missed by all. The absence of the police pup left a gaping hole in the team; even Ryder didn't know how they would fill in that gap. His strength, knowledge, and compassion was now gone forever. It was an enormous blow for the team, but even more so for the entire Paw Patrol family.

The gist of the Mayor's speech basically explained that the personalities and traits of each pup that was being commemorated today were simply irreplaceable. They were all perfect in their own little ways and therefore fit into the team perfectly. Not only would the rest of the team not want to get replacements, but no other pup on the planet would be able to fit into the previous pups' shoes. Chase, Skye, and Rocky were truly going to be missed for generations to come.

As Mayor Goodway closed off her speech regarding the three pups, she had one more announcement to make.

"Now before I conclude my speech and allow time for condolences, there's one more thing I'd like to share," she announced, gesturing for a few familiar faces to join her in front of everybody. In no time, Mayor Humdinger, Katie, Jake and Everest all climbed the stairs and walked past the Mayor, into City Hall.

Mayor Goodway began speaking again as the quartet emerged back out of the building, each pushing a large object covered by sheets out in front of them.

"As you know, we've all been working hard during the past few weeks to restore our beautiful city, and thankfully everyone has done an excellent job." She congratulated. "While all of this was going on, however, myself, Mayor Humdinger, Katie, Jake and Everest have been working hard on something to honour the three fallen pups that were taken by the tsunami."

As Mayor Goodway ended her sentence, Katie, Mayor Humdinger, Jake and Everest who were all standing next to the podium, pulled the blankets off and unveiled their creations to the crowd.

Everybody was left in awe. Beneath each blanket were beautifully crafted, copper statues of each of the pups who did not survive. Below each one was their name, their badge, and a catchphrase that was often used by each of them.

Below the german shepherd's statue read, " _Chase is on the case!"_ Skye on the other hand had, " _Let's take to the skies!"_ engraved under hers. Lastly, Rocky's catchphrase was, " _Don't lose it, reuse it!"_

The sculptures were so life-like it was almost unreal. Most of the crowd let out ' _Oohs'_ and ' _Ahhs'_ but the Paw Patrol simply sat there in tears, each and every one of them. This entire ceremony was just so overwhelming for them, and this outrageous act of kindness topped it off.

Under the fourth and final blanket was a plaque with some kind words on it, commemorating the lives of Chase, Skye, and Rocky. It read:

" _In loving memory of the three fallen pups of the Paw Patrol. The hard work and effort each of them put in to make our town into a better place will not only be cherished, but remembered forever. Unfortunately, their fate was sealed when the Adventure Bay Tsunami of 2017 struck and took their lives without warning. These young and vibrant pups were taken too soon, but will always remain in our hearts. Chase, Skye, and Rocky; gone, but never forgotten."_

"The statues will pay tribute to the pups' lives and are going to be placed outside on the front lawn of City Hall, for all to see and visit whenever they'd like," the Mayor concluded.

Applause began to break out in the crowd, praising the Mayor for the fantastic and heartfelt ceremony she put together, as well as the other four who helped make the statues. Ryder, who was driven to tears, deemed now a good time to walk up to the Mayor and give her a great big hug. Marshall, Rubble, and Zuma, who were also in tears at this point, were soon to follow and nuzzled the Mayor's legs, avoiding getting in Ryder's way. Eventually, Jake, Katie, Mayor Humdinger, and Everest joined in to make it a giant group hug. The applause in the crowd grew even louder as they watched this heartwarming moment unfold. This truly symbolized the purity and love that was possessed within every single relationship between the citizens of Adventure Bay and the Paw Patrol.

Shortly after, a receiving line was set up outside the front of the building. Ryder, Marshall, Zuma, and Rubble were lined up next to the podium, giving everyone attending the opportunity to walk by, greet them, and share their condolences. Seeing as both Mayors, Katie, Everest and Jake had already comforted the Paw Patrol many times before, they took this time to secure the three statues and plaque on the grass, just in front of the sidewalk.

By the time the Mayor and co. finished, the receiving line was still far from finishing. Almost the entire city had shown up today, and only about a quarter of the people had gotten through so far. So the group patiently waited for everyone to finish comforting the remaining members of the Paw Patrol.

It was painful, but after almost an entire hour, the final citizen of Adventure Bay had finished greeting and consoling Ryder and the pups. The only people now left at City Hall were both Mayors, Jake, Katie, Ryder and the four pups.

Eventually, the five of them walked up to the Paw Patrol, who looked physically and emotionally drained. Both the sadness from the ceremony and the patience of going through that entire receiving line were contributing to this factor. For this reason, Mayor Goodway spoke to them in a very calming tone.

"We put all of the statues in place," she notified, "If you guys want you can come and check them out."

Without responding, Ryder simply walked towards them with his three pups following close by. The other five lead the Paw Patrol over to the statues and gave them some space upon their arrival. They all stood back as Ryder, Marshall, Zuma and Rubble walked up to and stared at the statues in silence. However, this was short-lived as Marshall was the first to speak.

"So that's it, huh.." the dally sniffed, "They're never coming back."

Ryder felt a lump form in his throat as Marshall's words hit him hard. The other two pups became teary-eyed upon hearing their fellow pup's statement as well. The boy responded by gently stroking the dalmatian pup's head as tears started to roll down both their cheeks.

The rain started to pour down much harder on all of them, perfectly fitting for their moment of sorrow. Zuma, with his face covered in tears and rainwater, looked up and let out an echoing howl into the air around him. It was yet another gesture to honour and remember the pups who were presumably looking down upon them from Puppy Heaven. The rest of the pups were quick to join Zuma in this act, including Everest who was standing a few yards away from them. Meanwhile, the Mayors, Katie, Jake and Ryder simply bowed their head in respect as the rain continued to soak them. It would be this during moment in which everyone would have to truly and finally accept the fact of the matter, and that was that Chase, Skye, and Rocky, were now officially gone forever.

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 **What a chilling, but sad chapter. It almost seems as if the Paw Patrol will never cope with the deaths of Chase, Skye and Rocky.**

 **By the way, for those whom it may concern, HavocHound inspired the scene where Marshall dreamt of the zombie pups confronting him at the funeral. I just didn't wanna explain that in the opening author's note because that would've given things away, Lmao.**

 **Thanks for reading! Until next time,**

 **~SwarmX**


	17. Reunited At Last

**Well, I can say with great satisfaction that this is finally it. The last chapter of Terror's Peak. It's been a long journey writing this story, some ups and downs, but at the end of the day I finished it just like I had promised. Thank you all so, so much for supporting me throughout this journey. Every review, PM, or even a simple view just fills me with joy and has kept me going. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. Without further ado, chapter seventeen of Terror's Peak :)**

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After an extremely long and exhausting day, dusk was finally falling upon the three venturing pups. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, darkness slowly began to overcome the beautiful pink and orange sky.

The grass and leaves crunched under Chase's paws as he hauled his way up another hill. For every step he took, the german shepherd was getting shorter and shorter of breath, almost to the point of wheezing. Not to mention, his fractured leg wasn't making it any easier. Skye, who was almost driven tears through physical exhaustion, now sat on top of Chase's back, allowing her to regain some strength as well as catch her breath. Alongside Chase, Rocky was also managing his way up the steep incline but not without difficulty.

The trio had been walking the entire day, not stopping for anything. The only thing set on their minds was returning home; they simply didn't care about resting, eating or even stopping to have a little fun. They were so desperate to reach Adventure Bay that all of these things were meaningless to them.

Chase was the first to crest the hill, but stopped dead in his tracks when he reached the top. Rocky mirrored the police pup's reaction only moments later as he arrived at the top too. Skye noticed the sudden halt and was the last to look up at the sight, only to be drawn into a daze of disbelief.

Standing before them at the bottom of the hill was something that the three pups hadn't seen in ages. Buildings. Streets. Lights. _Civilization._ At long, long last, it seemed that their journey was finally over. After everything they had been through, it was simply too good to be true.

"C-Could it be?" Rocky stuttered as he gazed upon the city lights in disbelief.

"Adventure Bay?!" Skye exclaimed as she got up to her feet, jumping off Chase.

"I don't know guys…" Chase whimpered as his high hopes suddenly dwindled down into almost nothing. "Look at all these buildings, they don't look like the ones in Adventure Bay..."

"Maybe these are new buildings," Skye suggested, trying to remain optimistic, "After all, the tsunami did destroy lots of things..."

"I guess that's possibl-" Chase tried to spit out before Rocky made a crucial discovery.

"Guys look!" Rocky shouted as he pointed far into the distance. "On that cliff way out there! That's the Lookout, I'm one-hundred percent sure!"

Chase and Skye rapidly turned their heads toward the direction in which Rocky was pointing and gasped. Surely enough, in the distance the pups could see a tall, thin, white building with a red top and what looked to be a Paw Patrol logo halfway up the structure.

"Oh my gosh, you're right Rocky!" Skye yipped with glee while also performing a backflip; something she hadn't done in a very long time.

Chase, on the other hand, was still in shock and needed to be sure this was actually happening. However, his doubts quickly disappeared as he spotted yet another familiar building almost directly below them.

"And that's City Hall!" Chase gasped, pointing towards the old structure.

Adrenaline began pulsing through the pups' veins as they let out cheers of joy and relief. There was no doubt about it now, this _was_ Adventure Bay. This happy moment, however, was interrupted by darker and more depressing thoughts as soon as the gang was about to head down the hill towards town. It was Skye who stopped the two boys from going further after she let out a sort of frightened whimper.

Chase immediately came to her aid. "Skye, what's wrong? Are you okay?" the shepherd comforted as Rocky made his way over as well.

"It's just… I don't really know what to expect…" she stammered. "What if Ryder or the other pups are hurt too, or even worse..." Skye didn't have to finish her sentence for the guys to know what she was implying.

Chase and Rocky looked at each other for a moment and considered it as well. The cockapoo did have a point, they could be walking into a whole new life. However, regardless of what the case may be, they were going to have to accept and adapt to it.

The two guys gave Skye a friendly hug to try and make her feel a little better. It was Chase who spoke to her with calm and reassuring words.

"I know it's a little bit scary not knowing what to expect, but we're going to have to accept whatever comes our way," Chase reasoned. "Everything will be okay in the end, I promise."

"And besides, even if it's the worst possible outcome, we still have each other!" Rocky chimed in.

"Yeah, Rocky's right." Chase agreed. "It'll work out!"

A smile slowly grew on Skye's face as she licked both Chase and Rocky's cheeks. "I'm so glad we found each other back in that forest. I don't know what I would do without you."

"So, should we make our way down?" suggested Rocky?

Chase nodded, "Here goes nothing."

Maneuvering their way down the grassy slope was turning out to be much easier than hauling themselves up the hill moments earlier. This time Skye had enough energy to walk herself down, allowing Chase to lead the way and focus solely on himself and his injured leg. Rocky followed the two close behind. Butterflies swarmed each of their stomachs. They were so eager to see their city and friends again, but at the same time they were terrified of possibly discovering that not everyone had survived. Nevertheless, they continued onward.

Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, the back of the mighty City Hall building was standing in tall front of them. Given the circumstance, it was much more intimidating than usual. However, the only question on each pup's mind at the moment was whether the Mayor, or anybody for that matter, would be found inside. Since it was late, there was no hope in finding anybody out on the streets; it was essentially a ghost town. It was all a matter of knocking on the door and anxiously awaiting an answer.

Much to their surprise, however, after reaching the front of the building, three dark silhouettes could be seen below a dimly lit street light. All three pups immediately spotted this and got their hopes up. There was no doubt about it, those were _pup_ silhouettes.

Without thinking, the trio ran over there to greet who they assumed was their beloved Paw Patrol teammates. However, upon closer inspection, it was evident that these silhouettes were nothing but mere statues. They were disappointed to say the least, but their curiosity lead them to go take a look at these mysterious statues which they'd never seen before.

The closer they got, the more details they could pick out. Candles and flowers could be seen laid out in front of the statues. In fact, the statues themselves actually looked kind of familiar. A bit too familiar.

As the three pups arrived in front of the statues, they didn't even need to read the plaque to know what this was for. It was gut-wrenching to say the least. Each pup was essentially standing in front of their own grave.

"T-They think we…" Skye gulped, "..died?"

That question was answered with silence. Instead, the three pups were filled with thoughts of what could have been going on here days prior. In everybody else's eyes, the three pups were dead. The other pups and Ryder, their _family_ , must have been feeling absolutely devastated. As of now, they were the only ones to know the truth, and that was extremely unsettling.

Despite this, however, there was a huge positive regarding this situation which each of the pups eventually caught onto.

"Wait a second," Rocky eyes widened slightly, " _If_ these statues are memorial statues for those who died from the tsunami, and the only three statues are of us…"

"Then everyone else must be alive!" Skye exclaimed.

"Let's not jump the gun just yet." Chase warned, displaying his typical cautious and concerned traits. He then looked past the statues to where the front doors of City Hall were. "There's only one way to find out."

"Let's just go and knock," Rocky said eagerly, "I can't take this anymore. I need to know if everybody is okay."

"Agreed." Skye nodded.

"Alright," Chase took a deep breath, "Let's do this."

As they walked up to the massive City Hall doors, their hearts pounded against their chests. The anticipation was eating them alive. As per usual, Chase lead the way as he limped up the large stone staircase. Stopping and pausing as he reached the door, the german shepherd pup turned and looked back towards Skye and Rocky who both nodded their heads.

As Chase turned back around and lifted his paw up towards the door, he whispered underneath his breath, "Please answer, Mayor."

And with that, he gave three loud, distinctive knocks on the large wooden door.

* * *

 _ **BA-GAWK!**_

"Oh Chickaletta dear, I'm trying to sleep!" Mayor Goodway groaned at her pesky chicken. "What on earth could you possibly want at this hour?"

The small white chicken bobbled her way from Mayor Goodway's bed onto her dresser, where she simply stared out the window, even pecking at it a few times.

"What? Did you hear something?" Mayor Goodway questioned as she reached for her bedside lamp.

 _ **BA-GAWK!**_

"Oh no, I hope nobody's trying to cause any trouble!" The Mayor worried, "We don't have the Paw Patrol to protect us anymore!"

However, the strange noise from outside instantly became the least of her worries, as thoughts of the missing pups plagued her mind once again. The Mayor's mood slowly went from concerned to depressed. Nevertheless, she put on a robe and slippers, and made her way to the front door to see what was going on.

Goodway's trusty pet chicken stayed right by her side all the way up until the Mayor stopped in front of the door. She could now hear the noise that Chickaletta heard not too long ago, and it was coming right from the other side of the door. It may have been faint, but she could recognize what it was.

At first there were slight footsteps, and then there was the sound that caused Mayor Goodway's heart to sink into her stomach.

 _That sounds like… Chase?_ The Mayor thought to herself, only to follow up with a sigh. _I miss them so much I'm starting to hear things…_

However, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by three startling knocks which nearly made her jump. Rather than answer the door, Mayor Goodway simply stared at it; afraid of what was to meet her on the other side. It couldn't be what she was thinking, could it? Surely it was impossible. Contemplating whether to open the door or not, she simply continued staring at the knob, completely lost in time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, the pups had been waiting for an unusually long time for someone to answer the door. Their hopes were slowly crumbling inside of them. As the seconds continued to tick by with no answer, it started to seem too good to be true. Letting a tear roll down her cheek, Skye also let out a quiet, defeated whimper that spoke for all three of them. All of that hope, only for nothing to come of it.

 _ **CLICK**_

The pups' ears perked as their heads shot up in the direction of the door. Only seconds after Skye had whimpered, the knob began slowly turning and the door slowly creaked open a little bit. A brief pause followed. The three pups all held their breath as they waited for a familiar face to pop out from behind the door. Meanwhile, Mayor Goodway hesitated once more before looking outside. Regardless of whether she was met with a miracle or disappointment, she didn't know how she was going to react. Soon enough, however, the friendly hispanic Mayor poked her head out the door... and she could not believe her eyes.

"MAYOR GOODWAY!" The pups cried as they leaped up into her arms; some of them shedding a few tears after not seeing their cheerful friend for so long. Meanwhile, the Mayor collapsed onto her knees and cried as she embraced the love of the allegedly deceased pups.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" She exclaimed while hugging her four-legged friends. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU PUPS WERE OKAY! Oh my… I can't believe it!"

In this state, the Mayor couldn't even find the right words to describe how she was feeling. All she could do was cry hysterically and hold onto the pups as tight as she could. In return, she received endless licks, nuzzles, and hugs from the pups who were just as happy and relieved to see her. It didn't take long before Goodway started wailing and rapidly throwing out questions as to how the pups survived.

"But, how?!" she cried, "You guys were gone for so long! And the wave nearly destroyed Adventure Bay! Not one person in this town thought anyone could have survived such a thing!"

Chase, Rocky and Skye all looked at each other, still in the Mayor's arms. They thought back to the very moment when the wave hit, to when they were nearly killed by Valak. It was such a chilling memory to reflect upon; trying to explain it all would just be too overwhelming. Besides, it's not like anyone would actually believe they encountered some demonic wolf. People would think they were crazy.

Chase decided to take the question into his own paws, simply replying, "It's a loooong story."

However, by the time Chase finished responding, Mayor Goodway was already off on another tangent.

"OH MY GOSH! DOES RYDER KNOW YOU'RE OKAY?" She interrogated as she put the pups back on the ground. "AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS?"

Rocky responded with a nod, "We've been trying to find our way back here for the entire week. Only about ten minutes ago, we finally made it." he explained with a smile.

"City Hall was the first and closest building we saw, so here we are!" Skye added.

Still in disbelief, the Mayor tried taking deep breaths in order to help her remain calm and take into account this incredible situation. In typical Goodway fashion though, she began ranting on about her next subject.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed as she analyzed the pups more closely. "Chase what's wrong with your leg?! You aren't standing on it! And you two," she pointed at Skye and Rocky, "You're all scraped up and bruised!"

"Yeah…" Rocky said as his tone became a little more depressed. "We were lost in a forest for a majority of the time and… let's just say that it didn't go so smoothly…"

Chase then chimed in while looking at his hind leg. "This happened when the wave actually hit me, I think." He gulped. "I was getting thrashed around pretty violently under that water."

"Oh, that's horrible!" She sympathized, covering her mouth with her hands. "Here,"

The Mayor scooped up Chase in her arms and motioned for Skye and Rocky to follow. She lead them into the lounging room where she plopped Chase down on the couch. Rocky and Skye soon hopped onto it as well. Mayor Goodway quickly left without saying a word, only to return with her hands full of ice, bandages, and a _real_ splint, unlike the makeshift one Chase had been using nearly the entire time they were gone.

The mixed breed and cockapoo helped themselves to the bandages and ice, while Mayor Goodway helped Chase replace his worn out, homemade splint with the real one, also covering it with ice. Once finished, the busy Mayor stood up, folded her hands while looking down on the pups, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Welp, that's the first order of business done!" She proudly declared. "Now onto the next!"

"What's next Mayor?" Skye sweetly asked.

"Ohhh, let's just say I have a few _important_ phone calls to make." She winked as she took her cell phone out from her pocket and headed into the next room. "I'll be right back!"

All three pups looked at each other and smiled larger than their faces could handle. They didn't need an explanation to know what Mayor Goodway was implying; there was only one thing it could mean. None of them had felt this much excitement and happiness in so long. More importantly, however, none of them had seen their family in so long. And that was finally about to happen.

* * *

After lying in bed for hours trying to get some sleep but to no avail, Ryder decided to sit out on the balcony for a bit. This had become somewhat of a routine for the boy nowadays. It was the tenth night in a row where no matter what he tried, he wasn't able to get any shuteye. Chase, Rocky and Skye constantly filled his thoughts, especially at night when there was nothing else to think about.

As the sliding doors opened, the cool, nighttime breeze blew past Ryder, causing him to shiver slightly. However, the chilly air was also refreshing, and it allowed Ryder to relax a little bit more. The boy leaned on the railing and gazed at the moonlit bay down below. Normally it was a fantastic view; even better at night. But Ryder could only manage to look at it for a few seconds before flashbacks of that fateful day came back.

It was a feeling he couldn't even describe and never wanted to feel again. Looking down at that beach being pummeled by ten feet of rushing water, knowing that his pups were down there somewhere; it was just horrible. A mix of fear, helplessness and despair. That was all he could think about when looking down at the bay.

Upon realizing that coming outside wasn't really solving anything, Ryder let out a deep sigh and began making his way back to his room.

 _ **BLEEP BLEEP**_

The sound of his pup pad ringing nearly made him jump. It had been so quiet out on the balcony before that, you could've heard a pin drop. As the boy lifted the device to his face, he discovered it was Mayor Goodway calling.

 _That's weird, I wonder what she's doing up…_ Ryder thought to himself as he hit 'accept'.

"Hello?" He yawned into the phone.

"Ryder!" Mayor Goodway exclaimed, realizing she was speaking a little too loud. "Oops… sorry! I hope I didn't wake you up."

"It's okay, Mayor." The boy rubbed his eyes, "What's up?"

"Oh… well um, I uh… forgot to show you something earlier during the ceremony," she lied.

"Oh.. okay." Ryder responded, slightly perplexed as to why she was calling at this hour. "Not to be rude Mayor, but why couldn't have this waited until morning?"

"Well... were you sleeping?" The Mayor countered.

"Ehh, good point." He shrugged. "I'll be over in ten minutes."

"Oh, thank you Ryder! I'm sure it will lighten your mood!" She smiled, knowing that it was going to instead send his mood through the roof. "Also, can you bring the pups too?"

"Uhh I don't know Mayor, they're probably all sleeping." Ryder hesitated.

"Trust me Ryder, they'll want to see this at the same time you do." She continued to persuade the boy.

"Well, if you say so." He gave in. "I'll go check if they're awake, we'll be there soon."

"Thank you so much Ryder! Trust me you won't regret it," she grinned, "Buh-bye!"

The boy dropped the phone on his bed and sighed. _Great, something ELSE to remind me that my pups are gone forever,_ he thought. However, Ryder knew he couldn't turn down the Mayor's request, not after everything she had done for them.

With seemingly nothing else to lose, Ryder made his was way down the elevator and towards the puphouses. At this hour, he figured he'd at least wake up the pups gently rather than startle them with their pup tags. Yet, that didn't seem to matter as Ryder spotted Marshall's door wide open, with the dalmatian pup's head resting outside of the small building. Concerned, the boy made his way over and gently stroked the top of the dally's head.

"Hey Marshall," Ryder calmly greeted, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Marshall blankly responded, "I just can't fall asleep."

"You too, eh?" Ryder sighed, "Well, you want to come with me to City Hall? I guess Mayor Goodway forgot to show us something…"

"Sure," the dally shrugged as he stood up and shook himself off, "Not like I was going to fall asleep anytime soon anyway."

As Marshall transformed his puphouse into his fire truck, Ryder continued around the Lookout to wake up the rest of the pups. However, the boy didn't even end up even waking up any of the pups. Like Marshall and Ryder himself, the other pups were restless to say the least.

In no time, the troops were rallied up and ready to head off to City Hall. As the four of them travelled in a single-file line through the empty, dark streets of Adventure Bay, they could all see the Mayor and Chickaletta in the distance standing next to the three statues which were peculiarly covered in blankets. The only thing keeping them lit was the dim, flickering street light above, making the entire situation much more ominous.

Eventually, the gang pulled up to a beaming Mayor who had her hands on two of the blankets that were covering the statues. Chickaletta was holding the third one with her beak. The plaque, along with all of the flowers and candles, were gone.

"Good evening all!" Mayor Goodway greeted. "Or should I say, good _morning!_ " she corrected herself as she looked at her watch, realizing how late it truly was. "Well, anyway, thank you guys so much for coming!"

"No problem, Mayor." Ryder put on a fake smile, trying to be as polite as he could despite the sadness. "I see you've done something with the statues, is that the surprise?"

"Well… I _guess_ you could say that." She gave a cheeky grin.

"Did you paint them?" asked Marshall.

"Nope!" Mayor Goodway responded, still grinning.

"Did you add sound effects?" inquired Zuma. "Like, can they talk?"

"Even better!" exclaimed the Mayor, who could now hardly contain herself.

"Did you make them anama-... animat-..." Rubble struggled to find the right word, "...can they move?"

"You mean animatronic?" The Mayor let out a cheerful laugh, "Nope, it's even _better_ than that!"

There was a slight pause as the pups pondered over what the Mayor could have done.

"Did you make them come to life?" Ryder chuckled as he joked about what he could only wish was the truth. In reality though, he knew that was impossible.

However, when the Mayor responded with a simple smile, the hearts of Marshall, Rubble, Zuma and Ryder all sank to their stomachs as they went into a state of near shock.

On cue, Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta simultaneously pulled the blankets off of the supposed statues. In their place stood none other than Chase, Skye, and Rocky.

A moment of silence.

A moment of silence for all to comprehend the reality of the situation.

For the three rescued pups, there was only relief. After coming face to face with death on numerous occasions and being separated from their family for so long, to see Ryder and the other pups stand before them back in their own city was just overwhelmingly relieving.

And as for Ryder and the three other pups, pure disbelief was painted on each of their faces. They had lost all hope. The deaths of Chase, Skye and Rocky were etched into their minds, which they mourned over constantly. They had been living in that reality for nearly a week. Yet, all three of pup were standing in front of them, alive and breathing. It was just too much to take in all at once.

"P-Pups.." Ryder choked, "is it really y-you?"

All three pups looked at each other with the biggest grins of satisfaction ever. Chase couldn't have been happier than to nod and say the words,

"It sure is Ryder."

As soon as the words left the german shepherd's mouth, all of the pups and Ryder clung together like magnets. Tears flowed like waterfalls. Even Chase was sobbing amongst all of the commotion, however nobody even cared to notice. After nearly two weeks of missing each other and worrying that they were never going to see each other again, the team had reunited once again.

It took a while before everybody had composed themselves. Over ten minutes to be precise. Even Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta got in on the massive group hug. However, eventually when everybody was able to contain their emotions, there were so many questioned that had to be answered.

"I thought I was the sole survivor," Marshall sobbed, "I felt so guilty… why did I survive instead of you guys… I'm just so happy that you guys got lucky as well."

The three pups ran up to Marshall and pulled him back into another hug. By now, Chase's tears had dried, but Rocky and Skye still wept.

"We felt the same way about you," Skye sniffed, "We didn't want to head back here until we found you, but we had no food, no water, and Chase's leg was getting worse and worse… it killed us when we realized we had to leave, knowing you were possibly still out there. The guilt was horrible."

Chase, who was on the verge of crying again after listening to this depressing conversation, quickly saved himself the tears by hugging his friends even tighter. "Who cares guys, it's over and that's all that matters. It's finally over."

"I couldn't agree more." Rocky chimed in, also hugging the pups tighter.

Meanwhile, Zuma, Rubble and even Ryder were curious as to how the pups managed to survive. Especially because of the fact they all thought the trio had passed.

"So what happened guys?" inquired Zuma. "Marshall told us about Chase… and the restaurant collapsing… but what happened after that? How did you guys escape?"

In fact, Marshall was quite interested too, seeing as he was separated from the pups within that very moment. Chase, Skye, and Rocky all looked at each other and let out deep breaths, ready to recap their wild journey of pain, despair, and near death experiences.

"Well, let me just start off my saying," Chase began, "It wasn't pretty."

And so, the three pups began telling their own individual tales of the tsunami. From being trapped under the relentless water to being lost in the labyrinth of Terror's Peak, the pups explained in great detail the tragic events that they experienced. Well, all details besides one particular wolf; Valak.

After rethinking what had happened and how Valak ended up being some an evil, demonic wolf, they all figured that it was virtually unbelievable. There was no way that anybody would believe them if they told the truth. So, while they did mention the wolf in some parts of their story, they managed to leave out any part of him acting sinister, just like they did earlier with Mayor Goodway.

In all honestly, it really hurt the other pups and Ryder to hear all of this coming from Chase, Skye and Rocky. Whenever one of them would simply get hurt playing outside the Lookout, everyone would fill with worry and concern. Listening to all of these horrific experiences that the pups had was simply a nightmare. Eventually, however, the pups finished telling their stories, much to the relief of Ryder, who was on the verge of tears yet again.

"I'm just so glad to know that you're all alive," the boy sighed.

One more time, Ryder and all of the pups gathered together, forming one big group hug. To be back together as one meant the world to them. As the Paw Patrol sat in the street comforting one another, the flickering street light above had begun to form a constant beam, symbolizing that the broken bonds between them as a result of the tsunami had finally been repaired. At long, long last, they were finally back together as a team, as a family, once and for all.

The End

* * *

 **Once again, I hope you all enjoyed. Is there more to come from me? I'm not sure I'm able to answer that at the moment, I guess time will have to tell. Thank you so much for all your support. It's been great.**

 **~SwarmX 3**


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